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CNN This Morning

Heavy Snow Slams Northeast; New York City Bracing for Snow; Armed Man Shot at Mar-a-Lago; Joel Rubin is Interviewed about the Killing of a Mexican Cartel Leader; Trump Announces New Tariffs. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 23, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Fantastic game and a fantastic games.

Christine Brennan, thank you so much for your coverage.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: My pleasure, Audie. Thanks very much. Appreciate it.

CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, our breaking news coverage of this potentially historic winter storm that is hitting the northeast, that continues next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHELLE WU, BOSTON: This is a very serious storm that has the potential to be a historic nor'easter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: We're going to break down the snow totals so far and how much more could fall.

Plus this, a security scare at Mar-a-Lago. What we know about the man who tried to get inside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:14]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CORNISH: Back now to this breaking news. This potentially historic winter storm pounding the northeast right now. It's bringing whiteout conditions, power outages and high winds. Some areas could get more than two feet of snow. State and local officials across the region are warning residents to take the storm seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHELLE WU, BOSTON: And we're expecting heavy snowfall, strong winds and pretty dangerous conditions with how fast the snow will come down.

MAYOR MARTY SMALL, SR. ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY: We will get up to probably twice, if not three times the amount of snow of last month's storm.

GOV. NED LAMONT, CONNECTICUT: This is not our first snowstorm. We're New England. But this is going to be a bad one.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL, NEW YORK: New York City and Long Island, first forecasted to get a foot, we are now looking at 18 inches to 24. Let me help you with that. Twenty-four inches is two feet. Now we're talking serious snow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, I also want to show you this video just from a short time ago. This is snow and flooding in Brant Rock, Massachusetts. It's along the coast.

I want to bring in CNN's Derek Van Dam for the latest forecast.

Derek, I was talking with a reporter there earlier who said that this coastal flooding meant water in the streets, which we just saw. What else are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, so the storm is acting like a hurricane, even though it's a nor'easter. A completely different set of variables there. But one thing that it's doing is, it's producing a lot of wind on top of the snowfall. So, here's a clear image of that.

You're looking at the Statue of Liberty. This is a live view. And the camera has been shaking back and forth. And we can see some of the snow just whipping off of the Statue of Liberty here. Just indicating how intense these snow bands are as they come in.

We talked about this acting like a hurricane. Well, it's actually meeting the same pressure criteria of a category two hurricane right now. And this kind of forecast satellite imagery shows pretty distinct rotation almost representative of a hurricane. Well, it's producing the wind as well. And we've got these blizzard warnings. And that means that we're reducing the visibility to under a quarter mile with sustained winds over 35 miles per hour. Certainly meeting that criteria from Teterboro into Newark Airport this morning. You better believe that there are major flight disruptions, if not cancellations, across all of the East Coast, major East Coast I-95 corridor airports.

So, New Jersey, first time the entire state has been under a winter storm warning in over 30 years. Here's a look at the current conditions. As one would imagine, gusting over 50 miles per hour in some locations, and it will only go up from here as this coastal low, the bomb cyclone cycles right along the East Coast here.

So, look at this I-95 corridor. This is the heavily traveled area connecting some of the major cities throughout the East Coast. New York to Philadelphia, even towards Long Island, this is the area that's getting some of the heaviest snowfall rates, over an inch an hour. And you can see the Massachusetts Turnpike will be very messy this morning, I-95 all the way through to Boston.

The additional snowfall still to come, even though we've piled up over a foot in many locations, especially across New Jersey and Long Island. We have the worst to come here across the cape and into Massachusetts. Boston included. Could pick up another foot to a foot and a half, putting this in historic categories in terms of number of snowfall.

But again, Audie, with all the pine trees across the northeast, this will take down power lines. We're already close to 300,000 customers without power right now.

CORNISH: Derek, before I let you go, is this a multi-day thing, or is this today?

VAN DAM: Yes, good question. So, this storm is going to ramp up across the cape but start to draw down over the western parts of New England. So, New York, you'll be out of the worst of the impacts by later this afternoon and evening. And then the wind and the cold air sets in behind it. And, yes, this could be an impactful storm into tomorrow morning in terms of the winds and the heavy snow being pushed around.

CORNISH: OK, Derek, thank you. Appreciate it.

I also want to turn to New York City, which is under a travel ban as this snow falls. Officials are urging residents to stay off the roads because they want crews to be able to do their jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA FARRELL, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY'S EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPT.: First responders, they don't get to stay off the roads, right? They have to keep responding to 911 calls, emergencies. We don't want those emergencies to be traffic pileups.

This is going to be a very big job for the city's department of sanitation. They're ready. They have plows. We have two inches, so we can start to plow. But, you know, the less cars on the road, the easier it is for them to get the roads clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I'm going to turn now to CNN's Leigh Waldman, who's on the ground in New York City.

Leigh, can you talk about the situation there, because I know the stakes are quite high, especially after there were some deaths in New York.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Audie, absolutely. And we know that the city is opening up at least 40 warming centers to help those who are vulnerable, those who are unhoused, or maybe their power has gone out and they lost their heat.

[06:40:08] Here in Central Park, you can see how much snow has already fallen. As of 1:00 a.m., nine inches. We're expecting another reading around seven.

I want to take you over to the road here. We talked about keeping the roads clear. That travel ban. This is a road. And a plow was here about an hour ago. But you can see how much snow is falling.

Meanwhile, this snow, it's heavy. It's thick. Wet snow that's hard to get off the ground. Thousands of people are doing this, trying to shovel and keep the snow paths clear. It's not that light, fluffy snow. They're referring to this as heart attack snow because it is so strenuous to try and pick up clumps of it and get it out of the way. That's what the crews are working to do but it's coming down quickly and fast.

Take a listen to what the mayor of New York City had to say about the crews they're bringing in to try and keep these roadways clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK: We have brought in outside mechanical snow clearing equipment ahead of the snowfall, an unprecedented early activation of this resource. We are expanding geocoded tracking of bus stops, unsheltered stops, crosswalks and pedestrian ramps to improve the rate at which they are cleared. We are also mandating that a path of at least four feet must be cleared across all sidewalks to accommodate wheelchairs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: Now, we just saw some people coming into Central Park. People are still trying to enjoy the snow. But meanwhile, not a ton of traffic on the road here. People really trying to adhere to that travel ban that's in place until about noon today. Around 7:00 we'll get an updated total of how much snow has fallen here in Central Park, Audie.

CORNISH: OK, that's Leigh Waldman, speaking to us from New York City.

I want to turn to this. An armed man who breached the secure perimeter at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, this was early Sunday morning, and he was shot and killed. Secret Service agents and Palm Beach County law enforcement actually confronted this person, a white male in his 20s. And this person had a shotgun and a gas can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: 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)

CORNISH: President Trump often spends his winter weekends at Mar-a- Lago but he was at the White House this weekend.

Joining me now to discuss the investigation, CNN law enforcement analyst and former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow.

Jonathan, thank you for being with us this morning.

Can you talk about how this investigation proceeds? FBI in charge. Secret Service in charge. What are they looking for?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, absolutely. But I -- you know, before we get into the investigation, I just want to put a finer point on, you know, how this incident really underscores the operational reality that the Secret Service and law -- and their law enforcement partners confront almost every day in carrying out this protective mission. And unfortunately, you know, while this case -- this incident rose to necessitating the use of deadly force, you know, it speaks to the challenges that, you know, we have of not just the president, but all political leaders as they, you know, continue to face this escalating and unmitigated threats, you know, day in and day out.

As for the investigation --

CORNISH: Let me follow you there for a second.

WACKROW: Sure.

CORNISH: So, you're saying -- are you talking about this in the context of Mar-a-Lago and trying to secure that? People have talked about that for a long time. Or the fact that this president has had multiple attempts on his life?

WACKROW: Well, this is the third major incident involving the president where you have armed individuals trying to cause him harm. But we're seeing a through line, Audie, not just with the president, but a lot of elected officials, where they are, you know, right in the bulls-eye of this escalating threat. So, it really necessitates a new way for law enforcement across the country, at the federal and state level, to really figure out, how do we comprehensively protect our, you know, elected officials.

CORNISH: What are you going to be listening for out of the investigation going forward?

WACKROW: Well, listen, there's going to be actually two parallel and complementary investigations going on at the same time. The first is really what we need to get to is the motive and the intent of this -- of this individual. That investigation is going to be led by the FBI, who has the, you know, statutory authority to investigate this.

And what they're going to be looking for is the actions and activity of this individual prior to the shooting. Was he acting alone? How did he travel from North Carolina down to the Palm Beach County area? Was he aided by somebody in that travel? How did he acquire the firearm? And what was the intent of using this, you know, this gas can as he -- as he came to this site. [06:45:05]

And most importantly, was he influenced by any type of group ideology or did he harbor any very specific grievance towards the president or the president's interest. All of which, at this time, Audie, remains unanswered.

The second investigation is going to be a review of the use of deadly force by agents in this incident. In that -- in that scenario, or that investigation, what investigators are looking for was evaluating, did the agents reasonably perceive that -- that at the moment that they confronted this individual and he raised that gun towards them, was the use of deadly force justified?

So, again, two separate investigations working in parallel with each other. But I think, you know, a difference that we'll see in these investigations, unlike what we saw in Minneapolis, is a lot of transparency. We have the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office with their body cameras that will, you know, come into play. We've already seen the Secret Service, you know, get ahead of this situation, saying that the agents have been placed on administrative leave.

CORNISH: Yes.

WACKROW: You will see this investigation be very transparent moving forward.

CORNISH: OK, Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much.

Next on CNN THIS MORNING, U.S. tourists stranded after a Mexican drug lord is killed, and then a wave of violence erupts in the streets.

Plus, President Trump not letting the Supreme Court stop him when it comes to tariffs

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:51]

CORNISH: Back now to the breaking news. Bomb cyclone slamming into the Northeast, and it has created blizzard like conditions up and down the East Coast. I'm going to show you this video from Norwood, New Jersey, showing the snow-covered streets. And live images from Philadelphia show the snow falling. Some places could get more than two feet of snow.

Priscilla Meza is in Hartford, Connecticut, with an update on the conditions there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRISCILLA MEZA, FOX 61 REPORTER: Yes, the winds are definitely the worst things that we're experiencing out here in the elements. It is very strong. It's honestly pushing me a little bit. And I actually want to show a little bit. I wanted to -- earlier I found this shovel and I was able to find where the sidewalk is supposed to be. I kind of wanted to show you just to show the amount of snow that has accumulated here. But also, I did this earlier, and I promise you, in about a few minutes the -- I don't know if it's the wind or the snow that's coming down, that it has completely covered it in just a few minutes. And it's --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, that's Priscilla Meza in Hartford, Connecticut. We're going to check back on the East Coast storm here.

There's also this developing story this morning, Mexico reeling from a wave of violence after Mexican forces killed the country's most wanted cartel boss. He was known as El Mencho and this was in a military strike on Sunday. Now, news of the killing triggered a violent response from his powerful gang. They torched busses and businesses in revenge. Smoke filled the skies in popular tourist destinations, like Puerto Vallarta, and multiple fires burned across that resort city. Officials reported more than 250 blockades of burned out cars across 20 Mexican states. Now, some tourists say they are left wondering what to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS DAGENAIS, U.S. TOURIST IN PUERTO VALLARTA: It really did look and feel like a war zone. And I think that feeling of anxiety, that feeling of, what does happen next or what could happen next, is driving what a lot of people are feeling right now.

It's also a place where Canadian tourists, American tourists and tourists from around the world do see a safe haven. A bit of a paradise. So, it is jarring to have that contrast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: With me now to discuss is Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state.

Joel, I wanted to talk to you because Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, for a time really did not want to focus on this idea of targeting kingpins specifically. And the Trump administration had really been pressuring her to take more action in this war on drugs. So, is ,this in a way, a result of that pressure?

JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, Audie. Well, clearly this strike was intended to not just get at the drug kingpin. And remember, 10,000 to 20,000 Mexicans are killed every year in the drug war. But also to mollify the Trump administration, which is threatening to invade, as you point out. Which, I got to tell you, would be extraordinary and counterproductive and create worse damage than what we're seeing now.

So, Sheinbaum takes this action for her own people, her own population. We've seen bouts of violence after kingpins have been taken out as well before. But I think the Trump team needs to recognize that she's a partner in this fight, not an adversary. CORNISH: For the people watching at home who may have friends, family,

relatives, either visiting or there, what is the role of diplomacy, the State Department? What can you do to sort of be safe?

RUBIN: Yes, a couple things. First and foremost, if you're in Mexico, you need to check in with the consulate or the embassy. They'll have a line, a 24/7 line open, available to all Americans in the country to get information, share it with them, as well as, of course, checking online.

And I think, frankly, just stay in place and not take actions in terms of running around the country and exposing themselves for a little bit.

But I also would caution people not to overreact. There is a Mexican police force. There is a Mexican infrastructure. And unfortunately, this is happening, but this will pass as there's coordination internally, locally to tamp down the violence. But Americans should all be checking in with the State Department, local officials and websites to make sure they know where to go and how to operate.

[06:55:04]

CORNISH: OK, Joel Rubin, thanks for your expertise on this. Appreciate it.

I'm going to turn to something else now for the group chat.

President Trump doubling down after the Supreme Court rejected most of his sweeping global tariffs. The president announced new 15 percent global tariffs over the weekend. But this was under a different part of the law, a different part of the trade act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The court said that I'm not allowed to charge even $1. I can't charge $1. Can't charge a dollar.

But I am allowed to cut off any and all trade or business with that same country. In other words, I can destroy the trade. I can destroy the country.

I can do anything I want, but I can't charge $1.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, so this back and forth creating chaos and confusion for world leaders. When we look at something even like Mexico it was tariffs, like dangling that in front of the country to say, look, if you don't do what we want, this is what could happen to you.

Has the president lost a tool in his sort of diplomatic negotiating toolbox? MARGARET TALEV, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY, JOURNALISM AND

CITIZENSHIP, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: I just think we're seeing countries around the world acting with confusion now to the wake of the tariffs and what it actually means. He can impose these 15 percent tariffs for 150 days. He can bide that time as a bridge, as his team says, to come up with a predicate for longer lasting trade and tariff sanctions. But there are a number of unresolved questions. What's going to happen to those refunds? Is anyone going to get a refund? Who gets a refund? You get a refund.

CORNISH: I know. You know who might think about that? Federal Reserve said that we were paying the president's tariffs because they were taxes.

TALEV: Turns out it was taxpayers, right.

CORNISH: Average cost to households, $1,000.

You know who else has their finger up wondering which way this is going to go? Costco, Revlon, Goodyear, all these companies that had actually challenged the tariffs in court. So, the -- it's not speculative to wonder what's going to happen to these refunds.

FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "USA TODAY": Well, and Jamieson Greer actually said yesterday that he thought that the Supreme Court would end up weighing in on this. I mean they didn't before, but he seems to think that they --

CORNISH: Yes, like it will go back to them.

CHAMBERS: That they still -- that they still -- that they still could at some point. And the president himself saying on Friday that he expects this to be tied up in court for years deciding on this.

But I think a key thing here is that the president has doubled down on these tariffs, as you were saying. And this comes as, I want to throw out another number from a different poll this morning, "The Washington Post"/Ipsos/ABC poll that showed that 34 percent of Americans, only 34 percent, approved of the tariffs. So, regardless of whether he has the power to do this or not, I think part of the question here is whether Americans want him to continue to proceed with the tariffs. And, again, only 34 percent saying they like this.

CORNISH: Was there a shock to the White House system to see this majority include people who they consider their Supreme Court justices, right? Like in Amy Coney Barrett. Like a Gorsuch.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. You saw that shock and you saw that anger more than anything else from the president himself when he was talking to reporters at the White House. And we know in the past he's actually expressed anger privately and publicly about Amy Coney Barrett when she had ruled against him on some of his initiatives, such as, you know, freezing foreign aid. But he made it pretty clear, he said their families should be ashamed of him. He went out of his way to praise Kavanaugh, another one of the justices he nominated, who was in the dissenting minority. And that (INAUDIBLE). CORNISH: Yes. It will be interesting to see if we see him talk about

this in the State of the Union. We know he's not afraid to --

KIM: And the justices will be there.

CORNISH: Yes.

KIM: Like, right in that front row. That will be something. That will be a dynamic to watch.

CHAMBERS: I think you could put that on your bingo card.

CORNISH: Really?

CHAMBERS: I think the tariffs are a safe bet for your State of the Union bingo card. Yes.

CORNISH: All right, so that's in my group chat. Check.

Now, I think for you, you've been thinking about the figure skating.

CHAMBERS: For the last two weeks I have been wanting to talk about the U.S. figure skating.

CORNISH: You have. You have. Now is your time. Now is your time.

CHAMBERS: And now is my time.

Yes, I'm still riding that Olympic gold high.

CORNISH: Very nice.

CHAMBERS: I think what's incredible about the Olympics is how involved it gets us all in these athletes' personal stories. And it has just been, you know, so fun to watch.

CORNISH: You?

TALEV: Girl power. Not just the Olympics, not just the news last week that there are now 154 female billionaires in the United States.

CORNISH: There are?

TALEV: Yes. It's awesome, right?

CORNISH: Where is mine?

TALEV: Yes, I know.

CORNISH: What's going on here?

TALEV: We're not on the list this year, but there's always next year.

CORNISH: Yes.

TALEV: But this all leads me to what I'm following, which is some entry around the Seattle Seahawks. Our family is a Seattle family.

CORNISH: Oh, yes.

TALEV: And we long scheduled, long plan, the team will be up for sale.

CORNISH: For sale.

TALEV: Some really, really fascinating speculation that it could be an all-female consortium, including the former wives of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. I have no idea whether that's going to happen, but I will be watching closely.

CORNISH: I'm here for that.

KIM: Well, I mean, I have to go back to the figure skating.

CORNISH: You nerds.

KIM: I think I watched every single performance of the Olympics of figure skating. And what I love is not just rooting for Team USA or watching these powerhouses like Japan, but seeing these skaters from these smaller federations be out on the global stage from, you know, Lithuania, Switzerland and watching a skater from Kazakhstan win the gold medal for the men's.

[07:00:12]

It's always amazing to see that Olympics (ph).

CORNISH: I love it. I'm duty bound to shout out to the Jamaican bobsled team. You guys did your best. Appreciate it.

Thank you for giving me your chats, you guys. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Audie Cornish. Headlines are next. We're going to give you more on that storm.