By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — True to her inimitable fashion, this year’s Big Game might end up being all about Cardi B.

The “Bodak Yellow” rapper – who just this past weekend performed in Studio 8H as the musical guest for the 1000th episode of “Saturday Night Live” – has many believing that she could be a featured performer during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, headlined by the newly crowned album of the year Grammy-winner Bad Bunny.

She won’t have far to travel, since Cardi B will already be at the game.

Like Taylor Swift last year, the spicy rapper has a personal interest in the Super Bowl in that her boyfriend, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, will be playing in the celebrated game alongside his team, the New England Patriots.

There were high hopes for Super Bowl LIX last year, since Swift was already in attendance to cheer on her now fiancé Travis Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs, and fans hoped she would take to the halftime show stage with headliner Kendrick Lamar for a rendition of her “Bad Blood” remix – on which Lamar was a collaborator.

That didn’t happen, but now that Cardi B is in her WAG (as the wives and girlfriends of athletes are called) era hopes are running high that she might fulfill the double-duty dream of attending to cheer on her man while also taking the stage for one of the biggest performance events in the world.

Goodness knows, Cardi has given the people reason to hope for such things.

Her enthusiasm for both football and Diggs, with whom she shares a newborn son, has been much on display recently.

The Grammy winner has shown up at games dressed as if it were Fashion Week, rocking looks from a vintage pink Chanel tweed set to an all-gray leather look by Jagne which included a corset.

The woman born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar has made quite the statement, and the NFL has taken notice.

Her flowing mint green wig provided a conspicuous flash of color when the sports organization posted a celebratory video on their verified Instagram account of her declaring, “We’re going to the Super Bowl!” after the Patriots secured their place by defeating the Denver Broncos during the AFC Championship game last week.

Cardi B’s eye-catching coif was accompanied by a massive fur coat when she talked to NFL Network reporter Cameron Wolfe about Diggs and how he fought his way to the Super Bowl.

“I’m feeling very excited, and very happy for him, very proud of him,” she said. “You know, he just came back from an ACL and me seeing the progress and the process of him going from there, from the first time he started running back and now joining the Patriots and actually going to the Super Bowl. I’m very excited for him, very excited for the whole team.”

The star’s transformation into a football superfan has helped her to be ubiquitous of late, from hanging with Patriots owner Robert Kraft to her reported upcoming performance at Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party planned to be held in San Francisco the day prior to Super Bowl LX.

But it’s the belief that Bad Bunny will bring her out for the halftime show that has many most excited.

Not only have the pair collaborated before along with fellow Latin artist J Balvin on Cardi B’s hit 2018 single “I Like It,” but four yea

By Ella Nilsen, CNN

(CNN) — Electricity costs are climbing nearly everywhere in the United States. But, in recent months, the Trump administration has framed the problem as one impacting only blue states.

While several blue states like California, Massachusetts and Hawaii do indeed have some of the highest electricity rates in the country, federal data shows that electricity prices are now increasing in every corner of the US. In fact, some of the highest jumps since last year came from purple Pennsylvania and red Ohio.

Despite framing high energy prices as a policy choice of blue states pursuing wind and solar, there are a lot more factors at play. Experts told CNN costs are going up in red and blue states alike and are not tied to voting patterns. And plenty of red states (Texas chief among them) have installed far more renewables than many of their blue counterparts.

Residential electricity prices across the US have climbed about 40% since 2021, according to data from nonprofit utility group PowerLines.

“That is a very significant increase that significantly outpaces inflation during this time,” said Charles Hua, PowerLines’ founder and executive director.

A spokesperson for utility trade group the Edison Electric Institute disagreed, saying federal data shows “electricity prices have largely tracked overall inflation in recent years, with prices only rising significantly in a few areas.”

Regardless, the cost of electricity is only expected to increase; utilities requested another $31 billion in rate increases in 2025, more than double the rate increased they requested the year prior, the PowerLines report found. About half of that requested money is concentrated among Southeast utilities in red states, where grid hardening, hurricane recovery and an expensive new nuclear power plant in Georgia are factors driving up costs for ratepayers.

“Lowering electricity prices is a top priority for President Trump,” said White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers, adding Trump is “aggressively unleashing reliable energy sources like coal and natural gas to reverse the catastrophic damage that Joe Biden did to our power grid.”

But experts cautioned that leaning on coal and natural gas could do more to drive prices up even further in the future.

Why prices are so expensive in New England and California

Electricity bills are indeed highest in several blue states, including California, New York, and the New England region (Hawaii and Alaska are also expensive outliers).

In past statements, the White House has characterized these high prices in blue states as a policy choice. Rogers, in a previous statement to CNN, said blue states were “stubbornly choosing Green Energy Scam policies that are making electricity bills unaffordable.”

But the reasons behind high bills are more complicated and vary by state. There is one factor they hold in common, however: Costly infrastructure that has come due for maintenance and upgrades.

Massive, deadly wildfires have driven up costs in California, where utilities are trying to harden their electricity infrastructure and are spending money on clearing vegetation and trees away from power lines.

“That has driven huge costs in the electricity system to adapt to that wildfire risk,” said Brendan Pierpont, director of electricity at think tank Energy Innovation.

Even though it has far less wildfire risk, New England has also been upgrading and modernizing its aging distribution and transmission systems, which hav

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN

New York (CNN) — Target’s business is in a slump, competition is bearing down and its hometown of Minneapolis is in crisis from massive federal immigration operations.

It’s a fraught moment for a new CEO to start.

Michael Fiddelke officially took over as Target’s chief executive Sunday. Fiddelke started his career at Target as an intern in 2003 and rose up the company’s ranks.

“We have real work to do,” he said in a public letter Monday. “We are equally clear on the opportunity in front of us.”

Fiddelke will aim to recapture the company’s “Tarzhay” reputation for trendy fashion and home furnishings at affordable prices.

Target for years stocked shelves with popular designer brands and its own labels such as Threshold, All in Motion and Cat & Jack. The mass merchant appealed to many consumers, but middle-income moms shopping for younger children formed a key customer base.

Target’s sales boomed during the pandemic, when customers rushed to buy essentials, home goods and other products. But it’s fallen since then.

Decades-high inflation squeezed customers’ budgets in 2022 and 2023, forcing them to cut back on discretionary purchases. Target got stuck with a glut of unsold pillows and laptops.

Target also struggled to keep stores tidy and certain products in stock on shelves. Customers complained about long checkout lines and understaffed stores. Target was even late to get some stores ready for key holidays last year.

Meanwhile, competition from Amazon, Walmart and Costco has intensified. These companies are larger than Target and have used their size advantage to drive down prices and attract customers.

Target’s sales have stagnated and its stock has dropped nearly 30% over the last three years.

“It’s an enormous job. There’s a lot to fix there,” said Scott Mushkin, a retail analyst at R5 Capital.

Federal blitz in Minneapolis

Fiddelke also has to navigate a tense political situation in Minneapolis.

Target and other big Minnesota companies have faced pressure to respond to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and the killing of two American citizens by federal agents there over the last month.

Target has more than 50 stores in the Twin Cities. Protesters have gathered at many of its stores in the region to call on Target to repudiate the administration’s immigration operations, following the arrest of two Target employees at a store in Richfield, Minnesota.

This is tricky territory for Target, which staked out strong positions in support of racial diversity and LGBTQ rights under previous CEO Brian Cornell. Those stances drew backlash from conservative customers, and progressive customers grew frustrated at Target when it stepped back from them.

Following the killing of Alex Pretti on January 24, Target joined dozens of other companies in Minnesota to issue a statement calling for the “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and for “state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”

Fiddelke also acknowledged the “incredibly painful” violence in Minneapolis in a separate video message to employees. He offered resources and support to staff members shaken by the killings.

Turnaround strategy

Fiddelke’s turnaround plans will focus on trying to introduce new brands and spruce up stores.

Target is increasing capital spending by 25% to $5 billion to improve store operations, merchandise and technology.

Target also recently opened a store in SoHo, the glitzy New York City neighborhood, full of stylish apparel, designer collaborations and beauty products. Target will use the store to test new

By Karina Tsui, CNN

(CNN) — Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC’s “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been reported missing from her Arizona home, officials said.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen Saturday night at approximately 9:30 p.m. near her residence in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at a news conference late Sunday. A family member called 911 around noon Sunday to report her missing, the sheriff added.

Nancy Guthrie has some physical ailments, but the family reported she has not had any cognitive issues, Nanos said.

“The scene at the house also has some concerns for us,” the sheriff said, without providing further details.

Search and rescue teams, including volunteers, dogs, border patrol agents and helicopters, have been dispatched overnight.

“We’ve pretty much just thrown everything at this as we can,” Nanos said.

Detectives from the homicide team are investigating and haven’t ruled out possible foul play, Nanos said.

“We can confirm this is a missing persons case, and the family is working closely with local law enforcement,” an NBC News spokesperson said. “The family is grateful for the outreach, thoughts and prayers.

Savannah Guthrie, who lost her father before her senior year of high school, has spoken highly of her mother and their close relationship.

When the anchor was offered her first news job in Butte, Montana, at the age of 21, her mother encouraged her to pursue the role, despite the distance from home.

“It’s not because she didn’t want me to stay. Of course she wanted me to stay,” the TODAY anchor recalled. “But she’s like, ‘I’m not going to stand in the way of your dreams.’”

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By Alexandra Banner, CNN

Happy Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his burrow today to predict whether we’re in for an early spring or six more weeks of winter. But take it lightly — the famed rodent is only right about 40% of the time.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ Government shutdown

A partial government shutdown is underway, and lawmakers are racing to limit its impact. The shutdown began Saturday and is expected to last until at least Tuesday, when the House is set to hold critical votes on a group of bills to fund the federal government. The proposed package would fund most departments through September but provide only a two-week extension for Homeland Security as lawmakers discuss potential reforms to federal immigration enforcement. Even a brief shutdown is already taking a toll: more than 10,000 FAA employees will be furloughed, and air traffic controllers will be required to work without pay until the government reopens.

2⃣ Grammy Awards

The music industry’s biggest stars gathered Sunday in Los Angeles for the 68th Grammy Awards. Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny took home the top prize, album of the year, for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos).” He opened his acceptance speech with a declaration of “ICE out,” which drew a lengthy round of applause before criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Rapper Kendrick Lamar was another major winner, taking home the most awards of the night, including record of the year for “Luther” featuring SZA. The winner of best new artist was Olivia Dean, whose summertime hit “Man I Need” went viral online.

3⃣ Epstein files

President Donald Trump responded to a jab Sunday by Grammys host Trevor Noah regarding his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close,” Trump posted on social media today. On Friday, the Justice Department released more than 3 million Epstein-related documents, which reference Trump more than 1,000 times, along with other prominent figures. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche signaled on CNN Sunday that the DOJ will not pursue new charges related to the Epstein case.

4⃣ Immigration protests

Massive protests took place across the US over the weekend, with demonstrators calling for ICE agents to leave their cities. The rallies and marches came after a nationwide strike on Friday prompted a shutdown of schools, workplaces and businesses from coast to coast. Many people continue to voice their solidarity with Minneapolis, where the deadly shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good have transformed the national conversation on immigration enforcement and appear to ha