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35 Million Plus People Under Blizzard Warnings In Parts Of Northeast; Interview With Governor Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ); Puerto Vallarta Under Siege After Mexican Military Kills Cartel Boss; One Killed, Dozens Injured In Double Bombing In Ukraine City Lviv; Dems Demand White House Refund American Families Tariff Revenue; Armed Man Killed After Entering Perimeter Of Trump's Mar-A-Lago Home; Puerto Vallarta Under Siege After Mexican Military Kills Cartel Boss; Opening Statements Begin Monday In Utah Mother Murder Case. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired February 22, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:49]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We are following breaking news out of the northeast where a major winter storm is prompting governors from several states to declare states of emergency and issue travel bans and restrictions.

This is ahead of the blizzard conditions expected to drop up to two feet of snow on some areas. Falling trees from gusty high winds could also knock out power to millions of people, and nearly 8,000 flights have been canceled today and tomorrow, according to FlightAware.

We are monitoring a whole lot of risks and conditions coming up. We've got team coverage of this dangerous storm.

CNN meteorologist Chris Warren is monitoring conditions from the Weather Center, and Gloria Pazmino is in New York City, which is expected to get hit hard here.

Gloria, I want to go to you first. I mean, even just from our last conversation, and now you can see more snow sticking behind you here, but can you just give us a sense for the conditions and how people are reacting on the streets there?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar, it is likely to be a historic storm here in New York City. In fact, we haven't had a blizzard warning here in the -- in the five boroughs since 2017 and now we are expected to get at least a foot and a half of snow. The snow that we got just about a month ago in the last winter storm was just starting to melt.

Now, the one big difference with this storm versus the last one is that it's not as cold as it was, and that makes it a little bit easier to navigate. But of course, this is still a very dangerous storm and a weather system that should be taken very seriously. So the city of New York really taking aggressive measures tonight.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announcing there will be a travel ban starting at 9:00 in the evening. That means that all city streets, highways, bridges will be closed to traffic. This is in an effort to keep the roads as clear as possible. There will be some exemptions for essential workers, for public transportation, but if you can help it, he is really asking New Yorkers to stay off the roads.

Now we're not seeing a ton of accumulation here just yet. It's just starting to stick. It's very wet. It's also very windy. It kind of goes back and forth as we've been here outside of Central Park in the last few hours.

And I just have to say, you know, Omar, it hasn't been like this in terms of snow, whether in New York City, for a few several years. But there's not a whole lot that stops New Yorkers, especially if you wake up on the morning of a historic nor'easter and it's your wedding day. I just met a bride who was walking into the park for her photo shoot. She's told me she woke up this morning and decided she had to simply carry on.

And I think that's a lot of the spirit that we're seeing here today. Just kind of keeping things going as usual. But on a more serious note, people really should take it seriously and prepare for what is likely to be a historic storm. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we knew it was still going to happen. There was a little bit of panic, but I was like, you know what, I know somehow, some way we're going to make it work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People have been seen snow before. And what happens is they want to go on a tour. So they want to see Central Park if they've never seen Central Park.

PAZMINO: There are going to be a point tonight where you're going to just kind of call it because it gets bad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, because I don't want to catch frostbite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Business never stops here in New York City. The tour guides are out here. The hot dog seller is out here. But they all told me today that as conditions worsened throughout the day, they do plan on heading home early.

Going into tonight, as soon as we have two inches of accumulation on the ground, the city's plows will be out in force. More than 2,000 pieces of equipment will be out, 2600 sanitation workers working 12- hour shifts from now until tomorrow. The traffic ban, the travel ban, I should say, is expected to lift at noon.

[16:05:03] And also, very importantly for the city's public school students, classes will be suspended on Monday. No remote learning. They will have a full snow day, which hasn't happened since 2019. So very good news for kids in New York City -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: And again, people out right now sort of as these conditions start to hit New York City. But as the sun goes down, as we get into the overnight hours especially, that's when we expect a lot of these conditions to pick up.

Gloria Pazmino, thanks for being out there for us.

I want to get to Chris Warren, who's tracking this storm overall here.

So, Chris, what are we expecting to see across the northeast in general?

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: An epic storm, Omar. I'll try to put this into perspective for you.

The pink areas are winter storm warnings. Now, if there are winter storm warnings like there are now from West Virginia all the way up to Maine and, say, one blizzard warning in Nantucket just the one island, we'd be like, this is a potent, massive, huge storm. But the blizzard warnings, the wind component of this is huge. So from Virginia here in the Delmarva and into Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, parts of New York, all of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Long Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, all those areas, parts of those areas under blizzard warnings.

On the way, this could get to one more level because this is a next level deal here, would be if this was happening in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day, but this is happening overnight and coming off of a weekend. That being said, that snow is starting and we're seeing with Gloria those pictures there in New York, that is only going to ramp up, intensify throughout the evening and into tonight.

Rain is changing over to snow so now once the snow falls starts to stick, it's going to start adding up, starting to fill in across portions of Long Island and New England. European forecast model has been trending, has been with the latest predictions been showing more and more snow coming more in line with the GFS forecast model which has been going wild for the past several days, showing some big time snow.

The details still will be worked out, but, Omar, it is possible there could be in some areas up to two feet of snow and dangerous conditions during the overnight hours with that wind.

JIMENEZ: Yes, people are going to wake up to a very different picture than they're going to go to bed seeing tonight.

Chris Warren, really appreciate the forecast.

I want to really put this in perspective here on just how dangerous this storm is expected to be. The entire state of New Jersey is under a blizzard warning for the first time in 30 years. And on top of the major flight cancellations, New Jersey Transit is shutting down bus and light rail service starting at 6:00 this evening.

I want to bring in the governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill.

Governor, obviously a lot that you all are monitoring right now but what is your main concern at the moment and how are you and your team preparing for it?

GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): My main concern is that we just had a horrible winter storm and I want to make sure that people realize this is a different, horrible winter storm. Actually much, much worse for several reasons. First of all, as you mentioned, we have blizzard warnings in all 21 counties for the first time in about 30 years. This is going to be a wet, heavy snow.

What that means to us here, we're heavily wooded state, a lot of branches, a lot of trees coming down, especially because we're seeing wind gusts, which will be up to 60 miles per hour. So this is a very different storm. It's a really dangerous storm. We will see whiteout conditions at times with both the snow coming down and the wind gusts. So people need to get off the streets as you mentioned. Light rail access link, busses are shutting down at 6:00.

We will shut down heavy rail operations NJ Transit at 9:00. So people need to be prepared to get where they are sheltering overnight. By 9:00 we have warming centers open and we are working incredibly hard on all of the services. We have mutual aid coming in from other states to help with our utilities should those utilities present any problems. And again, with trees and branches coming down, we're very concerned about that.

If your utilities go out, please call your utility provider. Don't anticipate your neighbor's call. That will help people get to it as quickly as possible. And finally, stay off the roads. All of the utility workers, the men and women who will be plowing and salting the roads are state troopers. They will be out. You don't need to be out.

JIMENEZ: And Governor, look, you've been in the state for a long time. Only recently as governor, but you've been in the state for a long time. Can you just give us some perspective here on how different or atypical this storm actually is for the area because obviously the northeast New Jersey, you get snow, you get storms, but the preparations here where you're actually stopping transit service and instituting essentially a road travel ban or telling people to stay off the roads in a much more serious way, not typical.

[16:10:10]

SHERRILL: Not at all. In fact, I did not implement a travel ban in our last storm, which was the worst storm in 10 years. But starting at 9:00 tonight, we are implementing a travel ban for all motorists because this is going to be so incredibly dangerous, both with the wind gusts and the whiteout conditions, the blizzard conditions across the state, and with the wind, which will be blowing trees and branches down in this wet, heavy snow.

And I'll tell you, already, you know, I was just here, I'm at the Bloomfield Armory in the northern part of the state. When I arrived here just about half an hour ago, there was hardly any flakes coming down. Already we're starting to see this weather come in. I was speaking to people in Atlantic City, the southern part of our state, and they said once it starts, it really starts. So people need to take precautions and be prepared to be off the roads by 9:00 tonight.

JIMENEZ: And, Governor, you know, you touched on this a little bit here but obviously preparing for this when it's your first winter event takes a certain level of preparation. But then when you're sort of coming off of the back end of what was already a large blanket of snow, not so much the blizzard conditions that we're expecting here but obviously a lot of -- a big dump of snow that came through there.

Were you still in any form of recovery phase from the previous snow? I mean, does that impact your ability to respond to what we're expecting to see here?

SHERRILL: We were all just finally starting to see grass, starting to see the ground again after -- because the last snow that came in, it was heavy snow, but it was cold and it was really incredibly cold. We had a huge cold snap afterwards that iced everything up. So that presented its own set of problems. We were just starting to feel like maybe we were getting past that and now this next snow comes in.

The good news is, here in New Jersey, we have the best public workers in the nation. We saw the incredible work that the men and women did here. The DPW, our Department of Public Works out there, salting and plowing the roads. We have our state troopers who have all been called in to help make sure everyone is safe. And we have all of our utility workers. And like I said, we've called people in. We have over 5,000 utility workers ready to get to work.

But they are there to make sure that we can get through this night and keep these roads plowed. But I'll tell you, if it starts coming down two to three inches an hour, just to give people a sense of that, our last snowstorm in January, we had really heavy snows. That was an inch an hour. Two to three inches an hour, these are blizzard conditions. This is something we haven't seen in 30 years. People need to take this very seriously.

JIMENEZ: And with those blizzard conditions and the wind, I mean, even what's already on the ground whips up in the air and it drops visibility to even more dangerous levels, which is why, you know, the road travel bans are even more significant here.

Governor, I got to leave it there. But best of luck to you in your preparations and execution of keeping people safe. Thank you for taking the time.

All right. We're also following major breaking news out of Mexico near the popular tourist city of Puerto Vallarta. Authorities are reporting fires and the blocking of various roads with vehicles set on fire by alleged members affiliated with cartels, gangs and organized crime. These are some of the images we're getting out of Mexico right now.

The governor of Jalisco says the violence has spread to at least five states in the country, and urged the public to avoid traveling on highways. The U.S. embassy in Mexico also just issued a shelter-in- place to all U.S. citizens in areas where security operations are now taking place.

And all of this, as Mexican officials said, the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Drug Cartel was killed today during a military operation. The cartel boss, Nemesio Oseguera, who also goes by the name El Mencho, was widely regarded as one of the country's most violent criminal figures. The U.S. Justice Department even put out a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

I want to bring in CNN's Valeria Leon, who joins us now from Mexico City.

So, Valeria, what more can you tell us about the situation in Mexico right now?

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Omar, Mexican authorities just confirmed the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, the elusive leader of the cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. He died while being transported by military aircraft from Tapalpa, Jalisco, to Mexico City following a major security operation conducted by and with the support of U.S. intelligence sources.

According to the Mexican defense secretary, El Mencho was wounded during a coordinated operation in Jalisco, and federal forces say gunmen attacked the troops, and in the clash four presumed cartel members were killed on the site.

[16:15:02]

El Mencho and two others died later while being flown to the capital city for medical treatment. Two other suspects were detained and significant weapons and vehicles were seized. Three members of the military were wounded and evacuated from treatment. Almost immediately, chaos erupted across parts of western Mexico and security sources report dozens of violent incidents.

More than 60 road blockades with burning vehicles, firefights, and also attacks on infrastructure in Jalisco and the neighboring states, including Guanajuato and Michoacan. Authorities have reinforced federal deployments as they battle to stabilize the region. And this rapid outbreak of violence mirrors what Mexico experienced in early -- in earlier high profile events most notably after the capture of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, when cartel forces set fire to highways and engaged security forces in a show of force.

El Mencho built the Jalisco New Generation Cartel into one of Mexico's most powerful and violent criminal organizations, with deep international drug networks. This had been one of the most wanted figures by both Mexican and U.S. authorities for years and analysts warn his death might not automatically bring peace, but could instead spark further internal clashes or fragmentation within the cartel, leading to unpredictable violence across the country -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: And we're continuing to monitor this situation. We're showing the images up as you were speaking.

Valeria Leon, really appreciate the reporting.

We have more breaking news this afternoon. An armed man is shot and killed by Secret Service agents and law enforcement after entering the perimeter at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. We'll bring you the latest on what exactly happened next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:21:43]

JIMENEZ: New today, Pope Leo in his weekly address at the Vatican marking four years this week since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine. The Pope calling for an immediate end to the fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (through translator): Peace cannot be postponed. It is an urgent necessity that must find space in hearts and be translated into responsible decisions. For this reason, I firmly renew my appeal. May the weapons fall silent. May the bombings cease. May an immediate ceasefire be reached.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, despite the Pope making that plea this morning, there were more Russian attacks today and a deadly double bombing in western Ukraine that officials are calling a terror attack.

CNN's Nada Bashir has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities have confirmed that they have detained and arrested one individual believed to be the key suspect in this double bombing attack, which took place in Lviv this morning. According to officials, those investigations are still ongoing and the question remains whether there are other suspects. That is something that investigators and police officials are still looking into.

Now at this stage officials have confirmed that at least one person was killed in that attack, a 23-year-old police officer. Some 25 others, at least, are reported to have been injured, and among them six law enforcement officers who are said to be in a serious condition.

Now we have been learning a bit more about how this attack unfolded. According to officials, police were notified of an emergency alert of a potential intrusion in the city center, in a shop, and following their response, that first blast went off. And then as a second crew of law enforcement officials arrived, a second blast also went off, impacting those in the vicinity.

And according to the preliminary investigation they believe homemade explosives were detonated in the area. And they are describing this as a terrorist attack.

Take a listen to these remarks from Lviv's mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANDRIY SADOVYL, LVIV, UKRAINE (through translator): Police are working on site. As for damages, many windows were blown out. An investigation is underway. Once it is over, we will clear everything up. We will help people. It was a very difficult night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now of course while one individual has been detained, as I've mentioned they are still looking into other potential suspects at this stage. While this is being characterized as a terrorist attack, there has been no clear announcement of a specific motive behind this attack. And at this stage, no official linking to Russia or potential Russian attack, although as we know overnight as well, in the country's capital in Kyiv, we did see a continued barrage of missile attacks targeting the capital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Nada Bashir, thank you for that reporting.

All right. We got some more news we are following and still that story we are covering and following as developments come in. Bomb cyclone about to hit a huge portion of the northeast. We'll bring you the latest on what is quickly becoming treacherous conditions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:29:11]

JIMENEZ: We're following breaking news. More than 40 million people are under blizzard warnings in some parts of 11 states across the northeast as a historic winter storm bears down on the region. Just a short time ago, Rhode Island became the latest state to declare a state of emergency. A travel ban has been issued there and in some neighboring states as well, with the potential for whiteout conditions making roads treacherous.

Up to two feet of heavy, wet snow is forecast to hit some areas, including major cities like New York and Boston. Trees and power lines are also at risk of falling, which could knock out power for millions. And airlines have canceled nearly 8,000 flights for today and tomorrow, according to FlightAware.

So we're going to keep you updated on the storm throughout the night especially as conditions start to actually take hold.

This is a live look in Philadelphia this afternoon. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells CNN today lower

courts are going to have to weigh in on potential tariff refunds after the Supreme Court ruled President Trump's emergency trade duties are illegal.

[16:30:13]

Now, despite that major court setback, the president says he's pressing ahead with his signature economic policy. He announced this weekend he's raising his new global tariffs to 15 percent, but the authority he's using different from what was struck down by the Supreme Court.

This new authority only lasts for 150 days before he would need congressional approval.

I want to bring in Rob Bonta, California's Attorney General. Thank you for being here.

Look, some democratic governors, including your governor, California's Gavin Newsom, are calling on the president to issue $1,700 tariff refunds to American families.

Is that something you support? Or do you want the money sent back to the businesses who also had to pick up the tab on these tariffs?

ROB BONTA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CALIFORNIA: Well, the U.S. Supreme Court declared, and rightfully so, as every other court that ruled on the substance of this issue leading up to the Supreme Court decision, that the tariffs were illegal.

And so the money is not -- money that Trump could have lawfully collected. So he needs to return it to those who paid it.

Generally, it's the importers, American importers who pay the tariff at the time of the import. And so they pass on costs to American families and consumers, of course, but probably the easiest way to track where the money was spent is at the import level.

So -- but the broad view of -- of Governor Newsom and other Democrats who are rightfully saying this money is not Trump's. It belongs to those who paid the tariff. It was illegal. You need to return it, even if it's hard to return it.

You can't do something illegally and have money that's not yours. You can't have ill-gotten gains. You need to return it to the victims that you victimized with the unlawful action.

So, I'm not sure what the best pathway is going to be, but certainly the importers who paid it and have an invoice paid and -- and a record of their payment would be one way.

JIMENEZ: Well, and that last point you were making sort of about -- about the difficulty of how something like that would be implemented. I mean, legally, are there pathways or places that you would start?

I know it's kind of uncharted territory here, really. But -- but, legally, is there a pathway to try and recoup some of these costs?

BONTA: There is. The -- the tried and true traditional pathway is for a business who has been forced to pay an unlawful tariff, as is the case here, to go to the court of international trade and commence what's called a refund action. There are already refund actions that have been commenced by different businesses who believe that they were unlawfully victims of these tariffs and -- and their right, the Supreme Court has vindicated them in -- in that regard.

And now others are rightfully bringing their refund actions in the court of international trade.

Now, because Trump victimized so many American businesses with these tariffs to the tombs of billions of dollars of money that he's taken away from them and taken out of their pockets to raise their costs when he promised to lower their costs, does that make it harder? Logistically, yes. High volume makes it more difficult, could slow things down.

So, I think there's a pathway and a role for Congress here as well to expedite, streamline, make this easier for businesses who have been harmed by Trump's unlawful tariffs to get their money back.

But you're right, it's a little bit of -- of -- of some new territory, but I -- I do just want to put a double click on the point that there is a clearer traditional pathway here. Go to the court of international trade and so refund action.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, despite the Supreme Court ruling, the president says he is implementing still a 15 percent global tariff on all countries, doing so under a different authority than what the Supreme Court ruled on.

What concerns do you have about that move and how it may impact businesses and families in your state, even if it does sort of have this 150-day maximum timeframe without congressional action?

BONTA: Well, it's very unfortunate. Study after study has shown that these tariffs have created havoc economically, have raised costs for businesses all over the United States of America. And Trump is now working overtime, absolutely committed to raising costs for Americans, even when he said that he was going to lower costs on day one.

So he seems to be following a motto of if at first you don't succeed and illegally raising costs for Americans, try -- try again. So he's trying again.

And we will examine whether the action he's -- he's taken is -- is lawful. There are prerequisites that are required. As you mentioned, there is a duration limit and as to how long the tariff can be implemented and imposed before Congress needs to act. There are ceilings on how high they can be raised.

So all of that are -- all those are issues we will be looking at to determine whether Trump is acting lawfully. He clearly didn't on his centerpiece economic policy in the first phase through his tariffs implemented through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That's what the Supreme Court struck down.

So we'll examine again whether he's acting lawfully, knowing that historically he's acted very unlawfully.

[16:35:08]

JIMENEZ: And, you know, before you go, Mr. Attorney General, I -- I want to pivot to -- to new development in your state. This week, you announced an investigation to the emergency response of the Eaton Fire to determine if race, age, or disability discrimination played a role in that fire that -- that ravaged the historically black community of West Altadena.

That was one of the deadliest fires in state history, killing at least 19 people, destroying more than 9,000 buildings.

But what -- what can you tell us about why you called for that investigation? Was there something specific that -- that you saw on your end that -- that you wanted more information about?

BONTA: Yes. You know, it was really two things. The -- the -- the data that doesn't lie, as well as the outcry from the community that has been asking questions that need to be answered. And I feel it's my duty and obligation to answer those questions.

What did the data say? Well, the data said that 19 people perished in the Eaton fire, 18 of whom were in West Altadena. And they were -- 16 of whom had disabilities. The average age of those who died were 77 years old.

West Altadena, of course, as you mentioned, is the historically black neighborhoods of Altadena.

So West Altadena community members are rightfully asking, how can that be? And another data point was that West Altadena residents got a notice to evacuate four hours later than East Altadena residents.

And so question whether that had a role in the disproportionate deaths that occurred in West Altadena.

So those are all major questions that deserve answers. It's my job to -- to answer those questions. And I had meetings that were very powerful, very moving and very compelling with surviving families who lost loved ones.

And they reached out to me and shared with me the information that they had about the impact on their West Altadena community and made requests of me to consider looking further.

And I independently assessed the -- the facts and decided it was appropriate for an investigation.

JIMENEZ: Attorney General Rob Bonta to California, thank you for taking the time. Appreciate you being here. BONTA: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right, everyone. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:56]

JIMENEZ: We're also following breaking news from President Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago where a man has been killed after entering the secure perimeter of the property early this morning.

Secret Service says a man in his early 20s entered through a gate at Trump's Palm Beach home shortly before 2:00 A.M.

Authorities say they encountered the man with a gas can and shotgun and ordered him to drop both the weapon and the can. That's when they say he raised his gun to a shooting position and officers opened fire ultimately killing him.

I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook. She's at the White House where the president has been spending the weekend, critically not there in Mar-a-Lago.

But, Julia, how is the administration responding to this?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPODNENT: Well, Omar, a White House official told me that President Donald Trump was briefed on this incident this morning.

And as you noted, the President and the First Lady were here at the White House when this happened, but they frequently do go to their Mar-a-Lago estate there in Florida. He has been there a lot on the weekends in recent weeks.

During a press briefing that took place earlier today, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw standing with representatives from the FBI, as well as the Secret Service, he outlined what they know at this point.

And that was that this man around 1:30 A.M. entered the perimeter there at Mar-a-Lago, and that's when a deputy and two Secret Service agents went to investigate. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: They confronted a white male that was carried a gas can and a shotgun. He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position.

At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. He is deceased at the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Authorities have said that this man is in his early 20s that he was from North Carolina and had recently been reported missing by a family member.

The FBI is the lead agency on this investigation. They are now analyzing the scene as well as looking into this man's background and a potential motive here.

They have asked people in the neighborhood, in the area that if they have cameras, doorbell cameras, things like that, that saw anything suspicious that could be related to this, that they reach out to authorities.

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook at the White House. Thank you so much.

I want to bring in some more perspective on this incident. Joining us now is retired FBI special agent Richard Kolko. Thank you for taking the time. Really appreciate it.

But just can you give us some perspective? Something like this, where does the investigation go from here?

RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, they're going to try and find out everything they can about this man. They're going to go backwards and do the social media review. See what his presence was online.

Of course, they want to see if he had any friends that may have had advanced knowledge that he was going to participate or do this act.

We know the evidence response team is out there. And as you -- as your reporter said, they're checking for cameras video. He didn't just happen upon that gate is my guess, that he may have been there a day or two before and it's kind of seen the operation. So there's a possibility, a good possibility they'll find some of that video that shows him on the move in the neighborhood previous.

[16:45:13]

But these are not the kind of things people just go out of the blue and just do. So he would have somehow telegraphed either on social media, two friends by his behavior, something that he was going to go do something like this.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, in something like this, as you mentioned, there -- there often is -- there often were signs leading up to this that either there was some planning or some indications of potential intent here.

But knowing that the president, obviously he's had attempts on his life before, but also such a high profile man as himself, with something like this, how would the sort of protection structure or security assessment be at a place like this that obviously is not the White House and how might that differ from the White House? KOLKO: This one probably doesn't differ from the White House. You know, when you think back, President Obama had a home in Chicago, but that certainly would not have been protected as highly as the White House.

But this is literally the third time, at least, at Mar-a-Lago, that there's been some sort of attempt. So Secret Service has to be on, you know, 100 percent alert all the time, whether the president is in Florida or not in order to prevent this kind of act.

Sounds like everything went, you know, as well as it could. You know, they -- they stopped this person at the -- the gate. And once they lifted a weapon to a -- into a firing position, obviously Secret Service and Palm Beach Deputy had no choice but to fire.

So it's too early to say, but it looks like it was textbook as far as protecting that facility and -- and protecting the president, whether he'd been there or not.

JIMENEZ: Yes. A lot of questions still at this point on the investigative front, but Richard Kolko, really appreciate the time perspective. Thanks for being here.

KOLKO: All right.

JIMENEZ: Still to come, we are tracking breaking news. Chaos and widespread fires near tourist destinations in Mexico. Some of the images we've been getting today. It all started after the killing of the leader of an infamous drug cartel.

And moments ago, CNN learning from a U.S. defense official that an inter-agency U.S. task force, quote, played a role. We'll bring you some of those details, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:04]

JIMENEZ: A mother in Utah published a children's book to help her son's grieve the death of their father. Now, she'll stand trial for his murder.

A jury will hear opening statements on Monday. Prosecution alleges that she poisoned her husband with a lethal dose of Fentanyl in 2022. She pleaded not guilty to all charges including aggravated murder.

CNN -- CNN's Jean Casarez is following this story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prosecutors alleged the Utah mother of three killed her husband, Eric, with poison booze, specifically, a Fentanyl-laced cocktail.

His death coming they will argue only after she tried but failed to kill him previously with Fentanyl-laced sandwiches.

They will argue that she needed money and a lot of it. Her real estate business was failing and she was deep in debt. Her husband had a lucrative business as well as a life insurance policy and the couple, a multi-million dollar home.

But prosecutors also plan to present evidence that Kouri was having an affair at the time of her husband's passing.

Eric Richins, a businessman and doting father was found dead inside his home in March of 2022. But Kouri Richins wouldn't be arrested in the case for over a year.

In between, she authored and self published a children's book on grieving even dedicating it to her late husband.

While on a book tour, she told a local television program that her husband's passing was a total shock.

KOURI HICHINS, UTAH MOTHER: He was 39. It completely took us all by shock.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Richins faces multiple charges including aggravated murder, insurance fraud and forgery.

Attempts to move her trial out of Summit County were rejected by a judge. The trial may last up to five weeks.

The defense is expected to challenge key state witnesses who allegedly provided the Fentanyl to Kouri Richins. For her part, Kouri Richins has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has long maintained her innocence.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

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JIMENEZ: Jean Casarez, thank you.

As I mentioned we're continuing to follow breaking news. Stay with CNN as we continue to track what is shaping up to be a historic and disruptive snowstorm across the Northeast. We'll have the latest forecasts on how millions are about to deal with blizzard conditions. Stay tuned.

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JIMENEZ: Timothee Chalamet, Matthew McConaughey discussed their craft and careers in a special CNN and variety town hall event. During the conversation, McConaughey shared his pers -- her -- his perspective, excuse me, on how A.I. could reshape the entertainment industry.

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MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, AMERICAN ACTOR: It's coming. Is it going to be another category? Or is it going to infiltrate our categories? Damn sure going to infiltrate -- infiltrate our category.

I think it'll end up, does it become another category? Will we be in five years having films the best A.I. film? The best A.I. actor? Maybe. I think it might be -- that might be the thing that becomes another category.

I'm not sure. It's going to be in front of us in ways that we don't even see it. It's going to get so good we're not going to know the difference. It's not only coming, it's here. I say prep for it and own your own lane, so when it comes you at least have your own agency.

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JIMENEZ: CNN, Variety Town Hall with Timothee Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey is now streaming on the CNN app. You want to see more of that conversation? It's a great one. Spoiler there.

Thanks for joining me today. We've had a lot of news. I'm Omar Jimenez. "CNN Newsroom" continues though to track the widespread blizzard in the Northeast. Jessica Dean picks up our coverage right now.