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Northeast U.S. Hits Winter Storm, New York Severely Affected; Violence Erupts Mexico Following the Death of Its Well-Known Drug Lord; Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Formally Closed, U.S. Men's Hockey Team Brings the Final Gold in an Overtime Finals Match Versus Canada. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 23, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church. Let's get straight to our breaking news.

And we are tracking a powerful and intensifying winter storm as it lashes the northeastern U.S. with heavy snow and gusty winds. From New York to Massachusetts, we are seeing an increase in wind gusts over 50 and 60 miles per hour. More than a foot of snow has fallen in some parts of the New York metro area.

The Storm Prediction Center warns that blizzard conditions will become more prevalent in the hours ahead, particularly near the coast. Some heavy bands could dump up to two inches of snow per hour. Power outages have jumped to more than 215,000 as snow and strong winds knock down trees and power lines.

In New York City, a state of emergency has been issued.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: The state of emergency closes the streets, highways and bridges of New York City for all traffic. Cars, trucks, scooters and e-bikes with some specific exemptions for essential and emergency use. We are asking New Yorkers to avoid all non-essential traffic.

In total, the storm is projected to drop between 18 and 24 inches across New York City, coming up to 28 inches in certain areas. New Yorkers should also expect dangerous winds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more now from New York City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a travel ban in effect here in New York City that will not lift until noon on Monday. The mayor of the city of New York, Zohran Mamdani, asking New Yorkers to stay off the roads. Not only will it be dangerous into the later evening hours, but he is also asking people to stay off the roads so that emergency workers and sanitation workers who are in charge of the cleanup can get to work.

Also importantly, going into Monday morning, the mayor announced that the city schools will be closed and students will have a full snow day. That means no remote learning, which is what they had to do less than a month ago when we had the last storm. So that is certainly very good news for New York City kids who will be able to enjoy the snow.

Going into the evening, conditions are expected to significantly deteriorate. The snow has started to pile up here in Central Park. The wind is picking up and it is very cold. That means it's very dangerous to be outside for extended periods of time.

The city increasing resources and outreach to make sure that vulnerable homeless New Yorkers can be brought into shelter.

Now we are, you know, here in New York, a lot of people are very much over winter, kind of done with the snow. But there are also some who are out here willing to enjoy it. Take a listen.

UNKNOWN: I am so ready to be done. It's not even funny.

You know, with our first snowstorm that happened a few weeks ago, my flight to Mexico got completely canceled. So I've had enough. You know, now that they're labeling this as like a true blizzard, I don't even know what to expect.

UNKNOWN: I'm just headed to the gym. I'm not thinking about the cold too much. I love the snow too, so beautiful to be outside today.

PAZMINO: Now, the city has deployed more than 2000 pieces of equipment to clean up the snow. Two thousand six hundred sanitation workers who are working 12-hour shifts to help with the cleanup.

They've also opened up warming centers and deployed warming buses for those vulnerable New Yorkers. And the travel ban expected to lift at noon on Monday when much of the cleanup will begin.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Let's bring in meteorologist Ben Noll. Thanks so much for joining us.

BEN NOLL, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So with more than 40 million people under blizzard warnings across the northeastern part of the country as a result of this powerful winter storm, what is the latest on these conditions and when will it likely be at its worst?

NOLL: Yes, I think this storm has kind of lived up to the forecast expectations so far. We've already seen as much as 14 inches of snow in parts of New York State and New Jersey, where there is a very intense snow band that extends just west of New York City, southward toward Philadelphia, a very densely populated stretch of the northeast U.S., where some places in this band have experienced blizzard or near blizzard conditions for six hours straight.

[03:05:09]

So these are very intense conditions. Visibilities have dropped as low as one eighth of a mile. So you're talking about conditions that are extremely hazardous to be driving in, you know, being outside along with the cold.

It's obviously quite an impactful storm for the northeast corridor. And as we go through early Monday morning local time, the focus of this storm is going to shift toward New England. So cities like Boston and Massachusetts, Hartford and Connecticut, these are just some of the places that are going to be hit pretty hard throughout the day on Monday.

So we're only about maybe halfway through this storm at this point. There's much more to come as far as snow and wind goes. And the storm is still intensifying.

It's probably going to reach about comparable in strength to maybe a category two hurricane.

As we go early Monday morning south of Cape Cod and Massachusetts. So, yes, it's certainly a really high impact event for, you know, a densely populated stretch of the United States.

CHURCH: Indeed. And Ben, what is your best advice to those in the midst of this historic weather event? Because a lot of the time people say, oh, it's been exaggerated. What would you say to those people?

NOLL: Yes, look, I think heeding, you know, the local advice and warnings, as you know, we've continued to hear throughout this storm. You know, as a meteorologist, you know, I'm sitting back kind of looking at the data.

And what I can see is, you know, let's just say you're in a place where the snow may not be falling really hard outside with the bands associated with this storm. You only have to go maybe five or 10 miles where you go from light snow to an all-out blizzard.

So that's kind of the localized effect that some of these really intense snow bands can play. If you end up trying to drive and you drive into one of those, that's when you can get yourself kind of into trouble. You know, you might find yourself stalled or you just can't see out the window because there's so much snow blowing around.

So, you know, I think really until it passes, I know it's Monday and people trying to get back to work and school. I'm sure there'll be a lot of schools, if not all schools, really in the corridor there that are closed.

But, you know, just respecting Mother Nature here and letting this storm pass if you can, unless it's, of course, you know, a total emergency. But, you know, I think staying home is probably your best bet with a big storm like this.

CHURCH: Right. Very good advice.

And Ben, just take us through step by step what the forecast looks like for the next few hours and days. And when will this likely all be over? And just in the rear view mirror.

NOLL: Yes. So look, folks waking up on Monday morning in the east, it's still going to be snowing in the big hub.

So that's D.C., that's Philadelphia and that's New York. So there will be snow continuing through the morning hours on Monday, lots of flight cancellations and delays.

But in those places by afternoon, things should start to lighten up. So you'll see the plows on the roads starting to clear that away. But one thing to keep in mind is that the winds, even after the snow ends, what it'll do is it'll blow some of that snow that had previously been cleared off the roads and sidewalks.

It'll blow it back on, making things slippery again. So that's something to kind of consider and be mindful of with those strong winds.

Now, once you get up toward New England into Connecticut and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, places like Boston, Providence, Hartford, up into New Hampshire, Portsmouth, Maine, Portland, these cities, it's going to be a blizzard all throughout Monday.

So pretty much the entire day, those places can expect strong winds and heavy snow. It won't really end there until Monday night. So pretty much they can strike off their whole Monday with all of that bad weather.

And then finally, the storm will move away Monday night. It'll actually cross Atlantic Canada, where there'll be a pretty big impact as well. They're used to a lot of snow there in Eastern Canada, but this looks like a pretty big event, even for their standards.

And then behind this storm, you know, it's been such an unrelenting winter for the Northeast. There's another snowmaker coming for Wednesday morning. Believe it or not, probably just a couple of inches.

So minor in comparison. And then maybe another storm as we go later Thursday into Friday. So places that lose power and places that have a really big cleanup ahead, I think need to kind of bear in mind there actually are some weather events behind this big one that they may need to consider.

CHURCH: That is good to know. Ben Noll, thank you so much for your very thorough forecast. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

NOLL: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Of course.

Well violence has erupted across Mexico following the killing of the country's most wanted drug leader known as El Mencho in a military operation on Sunday. And you can see fires raging in this resort town on Mexico's Pacific coast.

[03:10:08]

Earlier, an American tourist stranded in Puerto Vallarta described seeing, quote, "chaos."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS DAGENAIS, AMERICAN TOURIST: I'm on the third floor of a building unit that's in the middle of the romantic zone, which is the neighborhood of the city that's been under siege or part of the city that's been under siege. And I was able to see quite directly a little too visibly, you know, some of the tactics and some of the cars that would be set on fire, some of the looting that was taking place as locales, stores and buildings were being attacked.

So it was a combination of a lot of loud noise, a lot of chaos in the streets. There was a lot of uncertainty in terms of what will happen next, both in terms of what happens next in the next day or two, but also what happens next in the next few weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Officials say suspected members of organized crime groups unleashed the wave of violence. CNN's Valeria Leon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fire, smoke and chaos across several Mexican states. Cities brought to a standstill as criminal groups retaliate after Mexico's most wanted drug leader died following a military operation Sunday. Blocked highways, drivers forced out of their cars at gunpoint, trucks and buses set on fire.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a former police officer known to most as El Mencho, was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, wounded during a Mexican military operation and later died while being transported to Mexico City.

The U.S. played a role in Sunday's operation, according to U.S. defense officials, though it's unclear to what extent. As fear spread, many Mexicans spoke out, calling for an end to the violence.

EUTILBERTO ROJAS, SINALOA RESIDENT (through translator): People are aware of this violence, and what they want is peace, to live in harmony and justice, not in war. LEON (voice-over): Blockades were reported across various states, and

classes were suspended in at least three states as officials tried to contain the violence and keep civilians off the streets.

CAROLINA GUTIERREZ, SINALOA RESIDENT (through translator): I'm tired of seeing this continue every single day.

LEON (voice-over): Under El Mencho's command, the cartel expanded rapidly, challenging rivals like the Sinaloa cartel for control of territory and trafficking routes, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. El Mencho managed to avoid capture for years. His detention and death is one of the most significant blows to organized crime in recent years, and the first high-profile operation under President Claudia Sheinbaum.

The fall of El Mencho may mark a major security milestone, but with tourism, foreign investment and security for the 2026 World Cup at stake, the world is watching how Mexico handles what comes next.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, more coverage on the winter storm pummeling the northeastern U.S. with heavy snow and brutal winds. We'll have more details for you after the break.

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[03:15:00]

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CHURCH: We are tracking a major winter storm in northeastern United States. Here is a live look at Buffalo, New York.

More than 40 million people are under blizzard warnings along the east coast from Delaware up to Maine. The Storm Prediction Center warns that blizzard conditions will ramp up in the coming hours, particularly near the coast. The National Weather Service predicts the storm could bring snowfall of 2 to 3 inches per hour overnight into Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union address to a dissatisfied American public on Tuesday. A fresh ABC News-Washington Post poll shows his approval rating at 39 percent, with 60 percent disapproving of how he's handling his second term.

The last time President Trump's overall disapproval rating was that high was shortly after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol at the end of his first term. A significant majority say they disapprove of how the President is handling the economy, tariffs, inflation and relations with other countries.

Joining me now live from Colchester, England is Natasha Lindstaedt. She is a professor of government at the University of Essex. I appreciate you being with us.

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROF. OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So, Natasha, as President Trump prepares to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night, his disapproval rating is at 60 percent, according to that latest ABC-Washington Post poll. And the stakes are high just days after the Supreme Court ruled his sweeping global tariffs illegal and a week ahead of the first midterm primaries.

What did you make of those latest poll numbers? And what does Trump need to say to convince voters he can make their lives more affordable? Because they're not convinced now.

LINDSTAEDT: Well, the polls certainly haven't been kind to Trump. He's really been struggling with poll after poll. If we just go a little bit deeper into that "Washington Post" poll. Yes, it's 60 percent of Americans that disapprove, but it's 50 percent of Americans that strongly disapprove.

So that's a real bad sign for Republicans going into the midterm because you're going to see a lot of really motivated voters that want to go vote just to vote against Trump and his policies. And they're all really unpopular.

There's 64 percent that disapprove of his tariffs, 62 percent disapprove of his foreign policy, and 58 percent disapprove of the way he's handling immigration. And that used to be, of course, his strongest issue. And so now you have the Supreme Court blocking his use of emergency tariffs.

So his big tariff program, which he was touting was going to save Americans millions and was going to lead to all kinds of revenues and all kinds of positive effects. We're seeing that it doesn't have legitimacy from the Supreme Court, and it doesn't have any kind of support from the public.

[03:20:04]

So he's going into the State of the Union where he would have tried to have some kind of disciplined campaign message talking about all of his accomplishments. And he's facing a lot of pushback.

CHURCH: And, of course, the partial government shutdown continues ahead of Trump's State of the Union address. And that's hurting a lot of folks.

Data shows that the party not in power usually does better during the midterms than the party in power. But it's worth noting voters aren't very happy with the Democrats either. So what do you expect will happen during November's midterms with what we know so far, at least?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, the Democrats should do well in the midterms based on the polls. I mean, I think the concern for the Democrats is that there could be these voter suppression tactics that the Republicans are engaging with where they are threatening to have ICE agents at polls, and maybe they'll put out some kind of misinformation campaign.

Already Trump is trying to question just the legitimacy of the vote counting, where we've never really had anything like this, anything like massive fraud or even any kind of fraud in U.S. elections. So there's a lot swirling around the integrity of elections and disinformation campaigns.

But based on the polls, the Democrats should do well in spite of the fact that they are not as popular as they would like to be. They're struggling with their own issues. But with Trump having these types of disapproval ratings, you're going to see a lot of people motivated to vote.

CHURCH: Right. And what are you going to be watching out for when President Trump starts his address, the State of the Union address?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, I think he's going to be incredibly defiant. We're already seeing that, that he just has rejected the Supreme Court's decision.

And instead, he's citing some kind of 1974 Trade Act where he can implement trade tariffs across the board to all countries, about 15 percent for about 150 days. And he and his administration say that they have all kinds of different levers of power to keep these tariffs in place. So he doesn't seem to be paying attention to what the polls say.

He tends to think that they are inaccurate. And we're going to see a president that's going to be touting the different things that the administration has done in spite of the fact that polling reveals that Americans are not happy at all with his agenda and what he is doing. I'm curious to see if he mentions what's going on in Iran.

Of course, there's a huge military build-up there. And he is going to pursue some kind of action there to distract from all these domestic and economic problems at home. But as we normally see when he addresses the country, he doesn't apologize for anything, he tends to go on the attack, he doesn't tend to bring people together and he tends to engage in mistruths about all of his accomplishments.

CHURCH: And, Natasha, last year, President Trump's State of the Union address went for 99 minutes compared to the average address of 55 minutes. Going long doesn't necessarily make it better, of course. So how long will it likely be this year? And what impact does that have on viewers and, more specifically, voters, along with the content, of course?

LINDSTAEDT: So I have no idea how long it is going to go. But he does tend to go off the cuff, he tends to just sort of speak his mind without really reading the teleprompter all the time. And so it could be a really long one, again, as he loves commanding the stage.

And what happens is that people start to tune out. We see that the ratings in the beginning of the speech might be a certain level. And then you start to see even Fox News stops to have it on the air the entire time because viewers are disinterested in a long and rambling, incoherent speech that doesn't make any sense.

CHURCH: Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate your analysis.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. And we'll be right back.

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[03:25:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

As this winter storm intensifies overnight, snow is falling at a rate of two inches per hour in New York, that is according to the National Weather Service. And it's piling up quickly in New York City to the tune of five to ten inches so far. The mayor has deployed shovelers and plows to clear sidewalks and roads overnight.

Violence has erupted across Mexico following the killing of Mexico's most wanted drug lord known as El Mencho in a military operation on Sunday. Tourists stranded there described chaos on the streets. Officials say members of organized crime groups sparked the violence.

Iranian students launched a new round of protests at several university campuses over the weekend. Social media video showed scuffles between pro and anti-regime groups. The latest protests come as Iran faces mounting pressure from the U.S. to curb its nuclear program.

Well more than 40 million Americans are under blizzard warnings and coastal flood alerts. And more than 215,000 households are without power. Snowfall is ramping up with the heaviest bands potentially dumping up to three inches per hour tonight.

The Storm Prediction Center says prolonged whiteouts are expected as wind gusts could reach 40 to 70 miles per hour. Parts of New Jersey have already seen more than half a foot of snow. And for the first time in 30 years, the entire state is under a blizzard warning, forecasters say some areas could see more than a foot overnight.

As all that snow piles up, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner has a warning for those of you shoveling driveways in the morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: If you have a history of heart disease or if you have hypertension or diabetes or basically if you're over 50 and just out of shape, don't shovel snow.

Pay the kid down the street to do it. Support your neighborhood economy. Pay somebody else to do it. Shoveling snow is an enormous amount of exercise. It's both aerobic exercise and isotonic exercise.

[03:30:05]

And you're doing it basically not in a refrigerator like Rocky. You're doing it in a freezer. And those very low temperatures basically create a situation where your arteries constrict in the periphery, which raises your blood pressure.

And the arteries around your heart constrict and that sort of decreases the supply to your heart and you create this supply demand mismatch. And if you are at risk of heart disease or you've had a stent in the past or a heart attack or bypass surgery, you can provoke an acute coronary event like a heart attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A sobering warning there.

Now, earlier we spoke to WTIC reporter Steffen Reals from the increasingly snow covered ground in Mystic, Connecticut.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEFFEN REALS, REPORTER, WTIC: I just kind of want to now set the scene.

If you look right down here, you can kind of just see how deep things have gotten. We've been measuring it. It's about a few inches deep right now.

But coming back up, I want you to just take a look at these hotel cars that we have been just pleasured with right now. Because that kind of gives you a better idea of what kind of snow we're dealing with. Not only is it one, very easy to grab and holds itself together.

I can throw it off, it stays in contact.

It also shows you how deep it is.

We got quite a few fair amount of inches. Unfortunately, that's going to run into the same problem that a lot of these roads out here in Mystic are going to run into as well. And the fact that even if you clear it out, we have so much snow coming down over the next few days that it's just really not going to accomplish a whole lot.

And just to give you a better idea of how heavy this wet snow is going to be, you can even just look up at these branches right here at our hotel. And you can see that the snow catching onto these branches is really starting to weigh it down. And really, that is where a lot of danger here in Connecticut is going to be because that could potentially hit power lines.

And our utility company, like I said earlier, is already anticipating that there are going to be outages. But they said that due to these conditions, the big one being wind and how fast it could potentially get up to 55 miles an hour, that it could make things very difficult.

So while plows do try to clear the roads, crews aren't going to be able to fix these power outages until they can actually get anywhere. So that's why a lot of leaders, including mayors, including our governor, Ned Lamont, has been urging everyone, one, to stay inside. But before they do so, just get their cars out of the way so that they can help clear the roads at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Still to come after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping emergency tariffs, President Trump has announced plans for new temporary global tariffs. And we'll tell you how other countries are reacting to that news.

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[03:35:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN, this is your Business Breakout. And we're looking now at the Asia markets.

You can see the Shanghai composite is down more than 1 percent, nearly 1.5. In fact, the Hang Seng is up 2.5 percent, and the KOSPI is up more than 0.5 percent.

And these are the business headlines.

President Trump is raising his new global tariffs from 10 to 15 percent. Now it comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his sweeping emergency tariffs on Friday. The court ruled he exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs under an emergency powers act. The White House is now using a separate legal authority to enact temporary tariffs.

Well President Trump has issued a warning to Netflix remove board member Susan Rice, who's a former Biden and Obama official or quote, "pay the consequences." The warning comes as the White House is currently reviewing the streaming giants pending mega merger with CNN's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. Trump has previously sent mixed messages about whether he'll try to be personally involved in that review process.

Travel delays are piling up fast in the wake of the massive winter storm slamming into the eastern U.S. More than 5000 flights have been canceled so far Monday, that's according to tracking site flight aware. And that's also on top of nearly 4000 cancellations on Sunday.

Just days after the U.S. Supreme Court's tariff ruling, E.U. lawmakers will soon be meeting to discuss whether to suspend work on a trade deal with the U.S. The Trump administration is now moving to impose brand new global tariffs authorized under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Beijing is also keeping tabs on the U.S. tariff ruling and how it could impact China's interests. Our Mike Valero has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, some of the first takes from commenters across China certainly seems to convey that from their point of view, D.C.'s hand has absolutely been weakened by these emergency tariffs being taken away by the Supreme Court.

The White House is certainly trying to counter that train of thought. But notably, we have a prominent political pundit Hu Xijin writing the following over the weekend. He wrote, quote, "Trump has one less card to play while China holds all of the cards."

And digging a little deeper into that, what essentially he was trying to get with that statement -- get to with that statement, is that while this primary tool issuing these sweeping tariffs has certainly been limited by the United States Supreme Court, China's main trump card of access to a whole suite of rare earth minerals that is still maintained by Beijing without any kind of restriction.

So the main question that Beijing now is confronting or is confronted by is whether or not the United States is going to try to levy new tariffs in a different way towards China. And what we mean by that is the possibility of U.S. trade authorities saying that a certain Chinese company or Chinese sector could be in potential violation of trade rules and then able to be hit legally with a new set of tariffs by the United States.

So that end, let's listen to what the White House says about that part of the equation.

JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: We try to resolve the unfair practices we identify. And if they're not resolved, you can take actions like tariffs or other things to try to resolve them. We have tariffs like this already in place on China, we have open investigations already.

[03:39:47]

VALERIO: Now, important to keep in mind is that the United States may not want to rock the boat, so to speak, because President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are due to meet here in this town in Beijing in just over a month with the President landing here on March 31st and meetings with Xi that have to deal with the trade truce happening on April 1st and April 2nd.

The last time they met was October of last year in South Korea, hammering out that trade truce. And speaking of South Korea and Japan, for that matter, both of those nations, neighbors here in the region have trade deals with the United States that were hammered out under the threat of that trade cudgel of those emergency tariffs.

So the question also arises, what's going to happen to those trade deals with South Korea and Japan, even though the Supreme Court has said the authority under which the White House acted to launch those tariffs, the White House was not able to use that authority legally in that sense.

So far, the White House and administration officials are saying these trade deals with South Korea and Japan remain in place. And we have not heard from Tokyo or Seoul that either capital is willing to renegotiate their trade deals, at least at the moment.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: For our international viewers, "World Sport" is coming up next. And for those of you here in the U.S. and Canada, I'll be right back with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

The FBI is investigating after an armed man was shot and killed on the property of President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The Secret Service says the man entered the secure perimeter early Sunday morning. Neither the President nor the First Lady were there at the time.

CNN's Julia Benbrook has details from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A White House official tells me President Donald Trump was briefed on the incident Sunday morning. It's important to note that both the President and First Lady Melania Trump were here at the White House when this took place.

But they do often go to their Mar-a-Lago estate there in Florida. In fact, he has been there a lot in recent weeks.

Now, during a press briefing, the Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw, standing with representatives from the FBI and the Secret Service, outlined what they know, saying that a man around 1:30 a.m. entered the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago and a deputy and two Secret Service agents went to investigate. Take a listen.

SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: 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 was deceased at the scene. BENBROOK: Authorities say this man was in his early 20s. He was from

North Carolina, and that he had recently been reported missing by a family member.

The FBI is taking the lead on this investigation. They are analyzing, they are also looking into this man's background, as well as for a potential motive. Shortly after news of the incident broke, FBI Director Kash Patel put out a statement.

He said this. He said the FBI is dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation of this morning's incident at President Trump's Mar- a-Lago, where an armed individual was shot and killed after unlawfully entering the perimeter. We will continue working closely with Secret Service, as well as our state and federal partners, and will provide updates as we are able.

Officials have asked people in the area that if they have any video footage, doorbell footage that looks suspicious and could be related to this, that they reach out to authorities.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Tyler Reddick and his torn up number 45 Toyota Camry managed to hang on for the win at Moscow's Auto Trader 400 on Sunday. Despite a crash that ripped off the front right fender of his car, Reddick still managed to beat Chase Briscoe in double overtime by 0.164 seconds.

With a top finish at Georgia's Echo Park Speedway and a win at last week's Daytona 500, Reddick has now swept the first two races in the NASCAR Cup Series. He was later seen celebrating on the track with basketball legend and co-owner of Team 23XI Racing, Michael Jordan.

Well the Olympic flame has now been extinguished, and the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina have bid farewell to the 2026 Winter Games. One of the last gold medals went to the U.S. in a hard-fought overtime win over its fierce rival Canada in the men's hockey final.

CNN's Coy Wire has more on Sunday's thrilling showdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: For the very last event at these Winter Olympics, we've got an overtime classic in the men's hockey gold medal game. Just like the women's final, the USA versus Canada, and just like that women's game, it's the USA coming out in overtime.

The Americans withstood a barrage of shots from their neighbors to the north, 42 shots on goal, but Conor Helibick saved 41 of them, setting a new Olympic record for a gold medal game involving NHL players. And in overtime, it was Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devil Star, hammering home the game-winning goal, laying it all on the line, blood on his face, teeth missing, an American legend is born.

First Olympic men's hockey gold for Team USA in 46 years. I caught up with some of the fans who were over the moon.

UNKNOWN: Oh my goodness gracious me, that was incredible. That's all I can say.

WIRE: Who is the star of the game for the U.S.?

[03:50:01]

UNKNOWN: Jack Hughes, no one else. USA.

UNKNOWN: First time since 1980. Gold medal USA all the way.

WIRE: Man, take me through that golden goal moment. What's going through the mind as you hear the crowd roar?

JACK HUGHES, TEAM USA MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM: Oh, it's crazy. I think every kid dreams about that moment. Going into intermission after the third there, just looking around the room, just thinking someone's going to be the hero.

It's a pretty special feeling, obviously, you know, Jack comes through for us there. You know, makes our dreams become a reality, being a gold medalist.

WIRE: How do you put into perspective when you think about first gold medal for American men's hockey in 46 years, did that sink in yet?

HUGHES: No, it's crazy. Every kid grows up watching Miracle.

You know, every USA hockey player dreams of this moment and now we're sharing that exact feeling that they had. It's pretty special.

WIRE: So with that and with the closing ceremony also on Sunday in Verona, that's a wrap from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, Team USA speed skater Jordan Stolz is leaving his second Olympics with three medals. CNN's Corey Wire sat down with him to discuss his success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: You set two Olympic records, won three medals overall. Has that sunk in yet?

JORDAN STOLZ, U.S. SPEEDSKATING OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Not as much as I think it's going to. I think, you know, I just finished my last race today and I was trying really hard in that. But I think after winning the first, you know, two gold medals was a surreal feeling.

I mean, you're an Olympic champion and it's something that you've worked for since you were a kid, pretty much, if you think about it like that way.

WIRE: And you probably, as a kid, grew up watching people like Anton Ono, right?

STOLZ: Right.

WIRE: And thinking, man, what a legend. That's you now.

STOLZ: It is, yes. I mean, he was the first person I ever watched speed skating and now I have gold medals just like him. So if you compare it like that, I mean, you never would have thought I would end up here, but I did.

WIRE: How does that feel knowing that the next generation is looking at you? I want to be like Jordan Stolz.

STOLZ: Yes, right. I'm inspiring them a little bit. I hope so.

Yes. Well, I think if more people can get in skating, that's going to be great. I think skating is a really cool sport.

Should probably get more publicity. So.

WIRE: Is that something you're looking forward to? Kind of being a--

STOLZ: If I can do that, Yes, that'd be great.

WIRE: And how do you think is the best way to do that?

STOLZ: Winning medals, of course.

WIRE: You're off to a good start.

STOLZ: Yes, right. It's going well.

WIRE: When we spoke before, you said you go to the Netherlands and people recognize you, but in the U.S. it's kind of like no one really notices.

STOLZ: Yes.

WIRE: That's going to change now.

STOLZ: Should. I hope so. Just a little bit, it is nice to have two parts, right?

Going to Holland and then you can get out of tickets, right? Because they know who you are. But I don't know if that'll happen in the U.S., but it would be funny.

WIRE: How much can you squat?

STOLZ: Should I tell you the real numbers or the fake numbers?

WIRE: How many cars can you squat?

STOLZ: My coach is here. He doesn't know.

WIRE: Coach, how much can you squat? Small Volkswagen? STOLZ: Well, I would say I've done, you know, (BLEEP) probably 10

reps.

WIRE: There's been a lot of talk about Quad God at these games.

STOLZ: Right.

WIRE: But hold on, man. Let me see these guys. Stand up.

Let me see.

STOLZ: I have to pull it up.

WIRE: Let me see.

Oh, you're. Oh, God. Look at this.

What the heck?

He's got creatures, monsters. Quads. That's why they're called quadriceps, because there's actually four muscles in there.

And you can see all of them.

STOLZ: All right. I guess I'm a different kind of quad God.

WIRE: As big as my waist.

STOLZ: All right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Hollywood's biggest stars came out for Britain's biggest night in film. And the BAFTA for best film goes to "One Battle After Another."

The film took home six awards, including best adapted screenplay and best director. But it wasn't a clean sweep.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for best leading actor. But that went instead to actor Robert Aramayo for his portrayal of a man with Tourette's syndrome in the film, "I Swear."

And the leading actress award went to Jesse Buckley from "Hamnet."

Well, a new study finds climate change. It is disrupt is disrupting sea turtles reproduction systems.

CNN's Allison Chinchar has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): All over the world, conservationists protect sea turtle eggs from predators so the babies can survive and make their way to the ocean. But a new long term study of loggerhead sea turtles found that climate change is presenting new challenges to their survival.

For 17 years, researchers have been tracking individual female loggerhead sea turtles in Cape Verde, home to one of the world's largest loggerhead nesting populations.

[03:55:07]

They found that the warming oceans are causing the turtles to nest earlier and produce fewer eggs. Fitra Nugraha of London's Queen Mary University is part of that team.

FITRA NIGRAHA, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: So climate change has influenced the nesting timing of the populations and also the inter- nesting interval within a season. The increasing temperatures may speed up egg development inside the body, thus shortening the successive clutches.

CHINCHAR (voice-over): A clutch is a nest of sea turtle eggs, and a female turtle lays multiple clutches throughout a typical season, with 10 or more days in between. The earlier arrival of the Cape Verde turtles and shorter time in between clutches tells researchers they have adapted to the warming ocean. But Nugraha says after a deeper look, a troubling issue emerged.

NUGRAHA: But when we follow individual turtles, a complex picture emerges. And that tells us that something is happening in the oceans, and it is beyond the temperature. It is the ocean productivity that matters to all of this.

CHINCHAR (voice-over): The researchers started looking at sea turtle feeding grounds for answers and found a declining trend of chlorophyll in plants and algae over many years. They found that re-nesting intervals lengthened from about two years to four years over the course of their study. When the turtles did return, they laid fewer clutches and fewer eggs per nest.

Cape Verde hosts tens of thousands of nesting female turtles each year, and Nugraha says the future of the species depends on safeguarding their feeding habitats, rather than just beach protection.

Alison Chinchar, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. I will be right back with more of CNN's breaking news coverage of the U.S. winter storm. Stay with us.

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