MILAN — In the 2019 thriller film “Uncut Gems,” NBA star Kevin Garnett — playing himself — is being flaunted with a rare gem by Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner, an increasingly over-his-head jeweler in an iconic scene from the movie.

Exasperated when told he can’t purchase the stone, Garnett snaps at Sandler’s character, a little bit more colorfully than we can print here.

“Why would you show me something if I couldn’t have it?”

You could say all of Italy knows how Garnett feels right now.

The runaway stars of the Milan Cortina Games are not the biathlon medalist trying to win back the girlfriend he cheated on or the American figure skater pursuing new levels of dominance. Instead, the hottest ticket at the Olympics is for Tina and Milo, the universally adorable, anthropomorphic stoat mascots who fans can’t get enough of — literally. Trying to purchase a Tina or Milo stuffed animal has become a sport in itself.

“All I know is that they’re super adorable and definitely getting a lot of attention,” said Kira Mish, an American studying abroad in Milan.

“I think they’re super cute,” added Makayla Chang, her classmate. “I have a bunch of friends back at home that are huge fans of them, so every time I send them a picture and stuff it’s like it’s very memorable.”

But both Mish and Chang have had no luck trying to purchase a Tina or Milo as a souvenir.

“No, we’ve actually been looking for them,” said Chang.

Added Mish: “We went to the store today and we weren’t able to find them. So we were a little bit bummed about that.”

For some, even just photo evidence they were in the presence of Tina and Milo is something to write home about.

“Oh my gosh, they’re so cute, and I was so fortunate to get my picture with both of them,” said Stephanie Watson, a United States fan. “It’s so hard. You got to track them down, you got to stalk them. But it’s worth it.”

Not even waiting in line up to two hours at the Olympic megastore guarantees an opportunity to buy a plush Tina or Milo. The flagship store in Milan was sold out of the plush toy, and they are not available for purchase online in the Olympics’ official store. Some stores have even advertised the toys in the window, even if they do not actually sell them inside.

“They’ve been sold out for a week now. I don’t know if more will arrive. We volunteers are already fighting over the ones left on display in the showcase,” one of the workers at a megastore told NBC News.

In real life, the stoats are an endangered species. Across northern Italy’s mountain ranges, stoats are confronting winters that are no longer as they used to be.

For thousands of years, stoats survived Alpine winters thanks to a remarkable adaptation: Each November, their brown coat turns white, blending into snow and shielding them from predators.

Now, that advantage is becoming a liability. As climate change has shortened winters over the past few decades, stoats still turn white, but the snow often arrives later, melts earlier or fails to accumulate at all. The result is what researchers call a “camouflage mismatch,” leaving them exposed against dark ground and vulnerable to predators.

While the animals adorn much of the merchandise in Milan and Cortina — from T-shirts to magnets and everything in between — it’s clearly the toys that are most prized.

As of now, unless you’re willing to spend an inflated sum on the secondary market, there’s seemingly only one way left to leave Italy with a Tina or Milo: Win a medal.

The CIA has released a new Mandarin-language recruitment video aimed at Chinese military officers, portraying a fictional, mid-level People’s Liberation Army officer grappling with corrupt leadership and ultimately choosing to contact the American intelligence agency.

The video is the latest installment in a public-facing recruitment campaign targeting China, which CIA Director John Ratcliffe has described as the agency’s top intelligence priority amid what he has called a “generational competition” with Beijing.

In the short film, the central character watches as qualified officers are removed and replaced by political loyalists lacking military credentials. Troubled by what he sees as corruption, and concerned about the impact on his young family, the officer decides to reach out to the CIA.

“The main character’s struggle represents the widely shared experience and values of those serving in the PLA,” a CIA official told CBS News, referring to the People’s Liberation Army. The video is meant to highlight what the agency describes as a growing gulf “between the Chinese elites who want what is best for their bank accounts and the Chinese citizens who want what is best for their country.”

The campaign is not directed at Chinese President Xi Jinping personally, the official said, but at individuals inside China “who may feel deeply concerned about the direction their country is headed in but feel powerless to do anything about it.”

In a statement, Ratcliffe said the agency intends to build on the reach of its earlier efforts.

“Last year, CIA’s Mandarin video campaign reached many Chinese citizens, and we know there are many more searching for a way to improve their lives and change their country for the better,” Ratcliffe said. “We’re going to continue offering Chinese government officials and citizens an opportunity to work toward a brighter future together.”

The agency declined to provide specific metrics but said its previous Mandarin-language videos “reached millions of people and inspired new sources.” The CIA has seen “more and more people with insights on China volunteering their services and information via our website on the dark web,” the official said, adding: “If the videos didn’t work, we wouldn’t be releasing more videos.”

The new video, like its predecessors, includes operational security guidance. Its final screen displays Mandarin-language instructions on how to contact the CIA securely.

Although major U.S. social media platforms are blocked in China, the agency believes its content can still circulate. “Their wall is imperfect,” the official said, referring to Beijing’s so-called Great Firewall.

The campaign comes amid high-profile leadership shakeups within the PLA, including the removal of several senior military officers in recent months. The CIA official declined to draw a direct connection but suggested the parallels were notable. “The question to ask is, is art imitating life or life imitating art?” the official said.

China has long been identified by U.S. intelligence leaders as the foremost strategic challenge facing the United States. Ratcliffe has said publicly that China represents the CIA’s “top intelligence priority” and that the agency must provide a “decisive intelligence advantage” in the competition with Beijing.

Public recruitment campaigns represent an evolution in tradecraft for the agency, which in recent years has increasingly used cinematic online videos to reach audiences inside rival states, including Russia and Iran.