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CNN News Central
TMZ's Harvey Levin Says, Note Mentions Damaged Floodlight and Apple Watch; Now, High-Stakes Talks Between U.S. and Iran; Lindsey Vonn Tests Torn ACL in Olympic Training Run. Aired 7-7:30a ET
Aired February 06, 2026 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, ransom note details revealed in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie, details that could prove it's legitimate, but still no proof of life from the 84-year-old now six days after her abduction. Her son pleading for her abductor to speak with the family
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, maybe the most closely watched training run in Olympic history. Olympic great Lindsey Vonn back on the slopes just days after a complete rupture of her ACL. What we are learning about if she'll be good to go for the games.
And the first ever CNN guest to pee on the floor during the interview, at least as far as we know. The stars of the Puppy Bowl Here on set.
Kate is out today. I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.
SIDNER: This morning, chilling, new details about the purported ransom note sent in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The mother of Today Show Host Savannah Guthrie, as the family makes a new plea to whomever abducted her. At least three media outlets received ransom notes this week. The FBI says, one of them included two deadlines. The first, 5:00 P.M. yesterday, has already passed. The other is this Monday. The FBI also says there was a mention of Nancy Guthrie's Apple watch and a floodlight at the home.
Among out outlets that received the notice, TMZ whose founder Harvey Levin, told CNN, the letter indicated Nancy is okay but scared, and that the family will have no way of contacting her captors or captor. Levin also mentioned a key detail in the note about the Apple watch that could prove that the note they received is legitimate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ FOUNDER, RECEIVED PURPORTED RANSOM NOTE: They do mention an Apple watch as the FBI said, and they do mention the floodlight, the damaged floodlight. There is something else. And it is the placement of the Apple watch, which has not come out. And if that placement is accurate, I'm sure that is something that puts this letter on the FBI's radar. They began the letter by saying that Nancy is okay but scared. So, they say she is okay, and also that she's aware of the letter in the demands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: It is heartbreaking hearing that. We're also hearing from the family who are desperate for proof of life. Nancy Guthrie's son issued another appeal on social media to her abductors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMRON GUTHRIE, SON OF NANCY GUTHRIE: Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But, first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: CNN's Maribel Gonzalez is live outside Nancy Guthrie's home in Pima County, Arizona. What are you learning is the latest from your vantage point?
MARIBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Sara. Well, no suspects and new reward. That is the latest information in the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. The FBI is now working with local law enforcement here in Pima County, and they're offering $50,000 for information that could lead to her recovery.
Now, authorities also presented a timeline what they believe happened in this case. Now, it showed, among other details, that Nancy was dropped off here at her home on Saturday evening. And then at around 1:47 A.M., her doorbell camera was disconnected. Later on at around 2:12 A.M., there is no, no doorbell camera video, Sara, but the system's software detected some motion at around that time.
Now, additionally, one of the other key elements that we have learned is that there was in fact blood that was found on Nancy's porch. And after testing, authorities have now confirmed that that blood belonged to Nancy.
Now, they also say they are operating under the assumption that Nancy is alive, but have not received any proof of life.
[07:05:02]
And we know that that is something that the Guthrie family is also really desperately trying to figure out, especially in response to these purported ransom notes. They're asking, you know, for evidence that their mother is alive. Sara?
SIDNER: Maribel Gonzalez, thank you so much for those details in this really difficult time for the Guthrie family. John?
BERMAN: All right. Joining us now, CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Jonathan Wackrow. Jon, hang on for a second, because I want to play a little more sound that we have from Harvey Levin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEVIN: The letter says, you will have no way of contacting me. This is the only contact. So, that's why they're pleading for proof of life. That's why they are begging, because they have no idea how to get in touch with this person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, Jonathan, back to that in just a moment, but I want to ask you first about the deadlines here that are in these purported ransom notes that were sent to media outlets. One of the deadlines Thursday night passed, the other one is Monday. What's the significance of these?
JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, listen, this is a tactic by, you know, the hostile actor or the person that you know potentially has abducted Ms. Guthrie. It's establishing this sense of urgency with the progressive consequences of not meeting those deadlines. We now know that. There is a deadline on Monday, and we already passed by last night's deadline.
So, all of this, John, is done by intent, right? They want to -- the abductor wants to create this sense of urgency to force the family to make this decision to, you know, pay a ransom. Now, the way that you counter that is exactly what the family is doing. They talked through that first deadline, meaning we saw family members get out there in advance and try to engage with that abductor, knowing that in the note it says, there'll be no other ways to contact us. But you need proof of life before you are going to spend millions of dollars sending it to an account via, you know, with cryptocurrency, unknown to who it's going to and whether or not you'll ever see Ms. Guthrie again.
So, again, it's putting a lot of pressure on the family and to make these decisions in such a very compressed timeframe.
BERMAN: Yes. And explain again in more detail why we saw this new video from the family last night. I guess presumably as one of those deadlines was passing.
WACKROW: Yes. John, these public family appeals, we now have seen two of them are typically seen when you -- when the internal leads just aren't there, and time is critical. And this case fits that criteria. We already know that we have two time markers with this ransom note. And, really, what they're trying to do is have the family appeal directly and characterize Ms. Guthrie in this -- you know, in a way that, you know, it would appeal emotionally, potentially to the abductor, categorizing her as a mother, as a grandmother, as a human.
This strong emotional grounding is really important. Why? Because even though the note says that there's no way to -- there's no further communication, they're trying to elicit some sort of response. And in that response, hopefully, they will get some sort of proof of life.
So, this is a proven tactic that law enforcement has used in the past. But let me just put a finer point on this. It doesn't necessarily confirm the legitimacy of a ransom note, but that's what they have right now. So, it's a signal to whomever may have taken Ms. Guthrie that the family and law enforcement is willing to engage all with the hope of bringing her back safe.
BERMAN: And, Jonathan, the blood splatter, the fact of it is obviously notable, but what can be gleaned from it?
WACKROW: Well, listen, this is a great piece of investigative information. Why? Because it allows investigators now to know, hey, there's a high likelihood that she was taken away from the home via the front door. So we have a potential direction of travel. The blood splatter analysis can give us directionally, potentially where a wound was on her, her condition when she left the house. So, again, it's not the primary piece of evidence, but it's another data point that then matches against some of the, you know, timeline material that we, or timeline that we have established. Again, another tool that investigators are utilizing to find Ms. Guthrie.
BERMAN: And obviously they need anything they can get at this point.
Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much for helping us understand all of these new details. Sara?
SIDNER: All right, thank you so much, John.
Ahead, happening right now, high-stakes talk between the United States and Iran after President Trump's threats to launch military strikes.
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We have new details from inside the room where those talks are taking place.
Plus, new video shows the moments of Mercedes crashes through the Detroit airport terminal, what happened leading up to this, and where is that man now?
And why this man was juggling fire in the middle of an intersection on a unicycle? Okay.
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BERMAN: Happening now, high-stakes talks with Iran. New photos this morning showing President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, meeting with Oman's foreign minister. That's ahead of these talks with Iran, incredibly rare negotiations with high level Iranian officials, the first at all since the U.S. bombed nuclear sites.
President Trump has sent what he calls an armada to the region initially in response to Iran's deadly crackdown on protesters, but the demands have morphed now to include demands about Iran's nuclear programs and missile capabilities. Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House for the latest on, as I said, these very unusual talks.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very unusual indeed, particularly after a lot of the, you know, animosity that we've seen shared between, of course, United States and Iran during the president's second term, a reminder of the little trust that they have after the United. States had aided Israel in bombing some of Iran's nuclear sites last summer.
But, look, I think a key question today is how they're going to set the groundwork for what is actually going to be the main points of these talks. Obviously, they are in these meetings now. But what we have heard from the U.S. side, from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is that they do want this to focus on Iran's nuclear program, on their ballistic missile program. But also they want to talk about what Rubio essentially said was the support of terrorist organizations in the region, essentially referring to some of Iran's proxies, but also the crackdown we've seen in this year in the last month or so on anti-regime protesters in the country, something, of course, we've seen the president use very strong rhetoric to threaten Iran with.
Now, as for the Iranians, they have said they really want to have these talks limited to the topic of the nuclear program and having those negotiations. They also said they want to discuss some level of trying to ease sanctions on the country. But, again, I think it's important to remind you of the little trust that they have. We actually did hear from the Iranian foreign minister earlier in a statement, Abbas Araghchi, he was saying, quote, Iran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year, again, clearly referring to that 12-day war last summer with the U.S. involvement there.
Now, all of this comes, John, against the backdrop of a massive U.S. military buildup in the region, something that I know that this White House and the Trump administration is hoping will serve as leverage, significant leverage in these talks. The president, for his part has also had very harsh language about what the stakes are here, and he said in an interview with NBC News earlier this week that the supreme leader of Iran should be, quote, very worried.
So, we'll have to see where these lead. I do know from my conversations with White House officials that the president does want diplomacy first, but, of course, he's still leveling that threat of potential military action depending on how all of these negotiations go.
BERMAN: Alayna Treene at the White House, Alayna, thank you very much.
All right, the closest NFL MVP vote more than 20 years, and they picked the wrong person.
Plus, the crown dropped during the heist at the Louvre. We're getting a first look at the damage. Who would wear that crown seriously anywhere? You wouldn't be caught dead wearing. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:20:00]
SIDNER: Breaking News, this is amazing, Lindsey Vonn just completed her first downhill training session after completely rupturing her ACL.
Let's go to CNN's Coy Wire. Coy, what do we know about this run and will she be ready for Sunday?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Happy Friday, Friyay. Good to see you, Sara.
Her first Olympic training session since rupturing that left ACL. She just finished her training run, Sara, and she crushed it. No signs of any torn ACL slowing her down. She was wearing a big brace on her knee. Her teammates were at the bottom of the mountain cheering for her when she arrived.
The challenges just keep coming though, Sara. Training was canceled yesterday because of heavy snow this morning. There were delays because of a crash and then heavy fog, but she did it. She shocked everyone on Tuesday saying that she would still be competing despite rupturing that ACL. She released this video yesterday showing she would be ready and she was clearly lookout.
All right, what a Black History month moment for Team USA's Laila Edwards making her Olympic debut getting an assist in this game. She's the first black player ever on the women's team at the Olympics. Team USA beating Czech Republic five one. And Laila's family was there to see it, 14 of them, Sara, and listen to this, helping to pay for all their journeys to Italy, NFL Stars Travis and Jason Kelce. How cool is that? Go, Mom.
All right, NFL Honors last night, we had the closest MVP vote since 2003 and Matthew Stafford of the L.A. Rams becoming one of the oldest players ever to win MVP, 37 years old. He turns 38 tomorrow. He thanked his wife, Kelly, with four very special guests on stage and he ended with a surprise announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW STAFFORD, L.A. RAMS QUARTERBACK, 2025 NFL MVP: She's my rock. I want to let you know the sacrifices. I see you. I love you. I appreciate you very much. And it's my four beautiful daughters who I'm lucky enough to be sharing the stage with, give it up for them.
And I can't wait for you to cheer me on next year when we're out there kicking ass. And so I'll see you guys next year. Hopefully, I'm not at this event and we're getting ready for another game in SoFi. So, I appreciate you guys. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right, so the MVP will be back. [07:25:00]
How cute were those girls?
All right, this Sunday will be the third time in Super Bowl history both head coaches have the same first name, Sara. All three cases, it's been Mike, Vrabel and McDonald, two of the finalists for coach of the Year this time around and it went to first year New England Coach Mike Vrabel, ultimate players coach, Sara. He played for the Patriots, two-time Super Bowl champ. He chest bumps in the locker room, head- butts players. This was him in the preseason when his team got into a scuffle during practice. No pads on. He goes out there, just jumps right in it, Sara. He is the ultimate competitor.
I played against him in the NFL, Sara. One time, I'm blocking him. He couldn't get off the line of scrimmage, right? He reaches up under my face mask and starts strangling me in the middle of the play. I looked over Bill Belichick, just like shaking his head like, what's going on? I started strangling him, of course, and then we both started laughing. But it just shows he is a cutthroat competitor and his players play just like he used to. Look out for John Berman's Patriots on Sunday.
SIDNER: You know, who would never strangle you? That wonderful Matthew Stafford. He deserved the -- I don't care what John says. He deserved what he won and he is a decent, hardworking man and we appreciate him, especially as a Rams fan.
WIRE: So good. Yes, go Rams, right?
SIDNER: Go Rams.
WIRE: There you go, Sarah.
SIDNER: All right. John will have his day on Sunday and we'll all be watching. Thank you so much, Coy Wire.
All right, still ahead, job cuts are surging, hiring at a record low. We're hearing from some of today's high schoolers who were forced to rewrite their career playbooks before they even graduate.
Plus, new details on Nancy Guthrie and the ransom note that has been put out there. There are several, but CNN is told that says Nancy is, quote, okay, but scared. What happens next as another deadline in one of those notes is approaching?
Plus, video of an ICE confrontation in California, an ICE agent throwing a woman to the ground, then pepper spraying others in a crowd. What we're learning about this, that's ahead.
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