Today's Show Transcript

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COY WIRE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and happy Friday, Fri-yay, from beautiful, snowy Cortina, Italy. You're here with me as I cover the Winter Olympics, my six Olympics that I've covered, and this place is special. Tucked away in the Dolomites, the gargantuan mountains. Did you know the first ever televised Winter Olympics was in 1956, 70 years ago, right here in Cortina. The athletes zoomed down these exact same slopes, even use one of the same arenas here.
What do you say we whip through some of the highlights, some of the heartbreak and historic moments from a whirlwind first week at these 2026 Winter Olympics.
As of this taping, Norway, Italy, and Team USA battling it out for the overall medal count lead. Ukrainian skeleton racer, Vladyslav Heraskevych, who we told you about yesterday, has officially been disqualified due to his helmet, which depicts his fellow athletes who were killed in Russia's war in Ukraine.
21-year-old American speed skater, Jordan Stolz, stole the show, blazing his way into the history books, winning his first Olympic medal, a gold in the 1000 meters, breaking an Olympic record older than him.
And skier, Breezy Johnson, who has already taken home a gold medal here, is bringing home a little more bling. Her boyfriend proposed at the finish area of the Super G. Congratulations, Breezy.
And one pair of Team USA curlers are sharing more than a name. They're sharing a piece of history. Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin not only won the United States first ever medal in the mixed curling event, but Thiesse also became the first American woman to win an Olympic curling medal.
I had a chance to catch up with Cory and Korey, the dynamic duo behind the Olympic magic. Korey?
KOREY DROPKIN, AMERICAN CURLER: Yes.
WIRE: Cory.
CORY THIESSE, AMERICAN CURLER: Yes.
WIRE: Coy.
ALL TOGETHER: Coy.
WIRE: This could get awkward.
THIESSE: Yes, it could.
WIRE: So, you're at practice, coaches yelling, Cory/Korey, are you like both looking like, do you have a nickname? How's this work?
THIESSE: Yeah. Our coach goes by boy Korey and girl Cory.
WIRE: Really?
DROPKIN: Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Otherwise we're both looking.
THIESSE: Yeah.
WIRE: Cory, I know you're not done, but you're the first U.S. woman to ever get an Olympic medal in curling.
THIESSE: Yeah.
DROPKIN: Let's go.
WIRE: What does this mean to you?
THIESSE: It's incredible. You know, that was brought to my attention that I had the possibility to do that here, at our Olympic trials. And it's just surreal. And it's been a long time coming for -- for USA curling and for -- for women's curling in general. And I just hope that there's a lot of girls following behind me. And I hope that I can do whatever I can as a player and as a mentor to just inspire the next generation of girls to dream big and work hard and be on -- on that podium.
WIRE: I went curling for the first time before I came here to Cortina. I played in the NFL, thought it was pretty tough. This sport is no joke. Like Korey, you look like Michael Jackson, smooth criminal. You're like 45 degrees to the ice, your core, your abs, your butts. How many pushups do you think you could do?
DROPKIN: I don't know, like a hundred.
WIRE: Oh, only a hundred, he says.
THIESSE: I don't know. I mean, this is -- it's a tough sport. I mean, it looks -- it looks a lot easier than it is. And I love being able to take people curling, share my passion, my love for this sport with others. It's always a joy when especially someone finds out how difficult it is that previously didn't think it was.
You know, when we're out there playing, you know, curling, especially mixed doubles curling, you're -- you're doing extended lunge on the ice, trying to be precise like a golfer on a green. And then you get up, you jump up, you catch up, you sweep your heart out for 20, 25 seconds. And you try to recover that heart rate, get down to the hack and do it all over again.
Be very, very precise. It's a high intensity workout. And you know, it's something that I love doing. It kind of brings me back to my grassroots being a little kid on the sheet next to my brother and his team, you know, watching them do what they did, you know, practicing and -- and just trying to replicate what they're doing on the sheet next to them and throwing stones, getting up, sweeping and doing it all over again. I love mixed doubles curling.
THIESSE: We really don't get to play in front of a crowd very often. So, the environment here in Italy and sold-out crowds and the Italian fans, we had a ton of fans here cheering us on fans from all over the other countries. You know, it fuels us out there. It fires us up, especially this one. And curling needs more of that. It's really exciting. It is an exciting sport and we just want to showcase that to people.
WIRE: OK. Well girl Cory, show us your biceps.
(CROSSTALK)
WIRE: All right. Before we get you to your other headlines today, I can't let this special date go by without a very cool on this day in history, February 13th, 1997, a massive trove of Lego bricks was lost at sea, spurring a phenomenon that persists to this day. A cargo ship headed for the United States was battered by rough seas off the coast of England, causing more than 60 shipping containers to fall overboard. One of them was packed to the brim with nearly 5 million Legos.
And shortly after beach goers in Southwest England, notice the peculiar pieces like washing ashore. And it's almost like the sea has a sense of humor. Many of the sets were nautical themed, including pieces like octopuses, life jackets, and scuba flippers.
In the three decades since, pieces carried by ocean currents have washed up all over the world and beachcombers from all over have flocked to the English beaches to try their luck. It's even started a worldwide social media movement that allows people to report their finds from all over the world.
But it's not all fun and games. Environmental advocates point to the incident as an example of how widespread plastic pollution has become in our oceans. Plastic can take centuries to fully decompose underwater and can release harmful chemicals into the environment as it breaks down.
Pop quiz hot shot.
Which material were the earliest Lego toys made of?
Metal, rubber, wood, or clay?
You're log on right if you said wood. Lego was founded in 1932 by a Danish carpenter. In 1942, a fire destroyed the wooden toy factory. And when rebuilding, the company modernized production and later began experimenting with plastic.
Now to an update about a story we told you about weeks ago. A group of Buddhist monks have just completed their months-long walk for peace across the United States. They arrived in Washington, D.C. this week, 108 days after starting their trek in Fort Worth, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let peace bloom and flourish among all of us throughout this nation and the world so that this world can become the better place for all beings to live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right, it is another Friday in February, Black History Month, and we are taking a moment to honor one of the lesser-known heroes of the civil rights movement. In today's spotlight, it's incredible. When you call 911 today, you expect trained paramedics to arrive and start treatment right away, but that model did not always exist.
In fact, in the late 1960s, one groundbreaking program in Pittsburgh helped build the blueprint for modern emergency medical services, and it was led largely by Black paramedics at a time when all job opportunities were limited.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back in the 60s, when you called the ambulance, the police came.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Policemen were in charge of taking people to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they would put the person on that little stretcher and throw them in the back of the paddy wagon, slam the door, and go as fast as they can. People were dying from this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: That changed in 1967 with the creation of the Freedom House Ambulance Service in Pittsburgh's predominantly Black Hill District. The program recruited local residents of all backgrounds and put them through 300 hours of rigorous medical training far beyond basic first aid.
The idea was brought to life by a group of medical and civil rights trailblazers under the supervision of Dr. Peter Safar, the father of CPR, and medical director Dr. Nancy Caroline. Freedom House crews have become some of the first paramedics in the country trained to provide life-saving care before patients ever reached a hospital. The service became known for high standards and fast response times, saving 200 lives in its first year according to data collected by Dr. Safar.
The program's success drew national attention. In 1975, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the White House formed an interagency council on emergency medical services and chose Freedom House's training model as the foundation for its pilot curriculum. That framework helped shape the national standards that cities still use for EMS systems today.
Freedom House proved that life-saving innovation can come from anywhere, and its impact is still riding along in ambulances across the country today.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, an Olympic debut that comes with the triple energy. Meet Team Rivers, times three. Henri Rivers IV, is representing Jamaica in alpine skiing, and he's got his day one support squad, his triplet sisters Helaina and Henniya, plus mom Karen and dad Henri III. All three siblings ski, but for these games, only one qualifies, so the sisters are switching roles from competitors to fans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HELAINA RIVERS: But we have our flags.
HENNIYA RIVERS: Yeah.
HELAINA RIVERS: We have our Jamaican flags that we'll be waving.
HENNIYA RIVERS: Yeah. You'll see us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: The siblings say that their bond goes beyond the slopes, all the way to what they call triplet telepathy. And support won't just be in the stands. They say it's coming from back home as well.
For Henri, this Olympic moment is about more than one run down the mountain. It's about what it represents.
All right, superstars, have some shout outs to you today.
From Italy, Mr. Bishop at Graham Kapowsin High School in Graham, Washington. Thank you for subscribing to our YouTube channel. Thanks for the love.
And this shout out goes to Chief Finney at Baldwin High School in Baldwin County, Georgia. Your NJROTC cadets are so grateful for your guidance, and we are so grateful that you allow us in your classroom.
Play that Friday music, Nader. I hope you go out and make it an awesome weekend. We are off for President's Day on Monday, but we will see you right back here on Tuesday. Go out and make someone smile. Be that spark of joy that someone needs. You never know how or when, but you might be the light that someone needs.
I'm Coy Wire. And we are CNN 10.

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