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FBI Offers $50,000 Reward For Information in Nancy Guthrie Case; Luigi Mangione Due Back in Court. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 06, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

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[08:00:08]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Chilling details now revealed in one of the purported ransom notes in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie. TMZ got one of those notes and [Harvey] Levin breaks down what is in it. At the same time, Guthrie's son pleading for her kidnapper or kidnappers to make contact with the family.

Plus, accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione back before a judge today to determine who gets to take him to trial first, the state of New York or the federal government. We get to the bottom of why that matters.

And did you hear there's a football game at the Bad Bunny concert this weekend? John, no comment from you. Benito's big show is one of the most highly anticipated halftimes in recent history.

And Kate is out. I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman. This is "CNN News Central."

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, one deadline has passed, the other still looming. That is according to a purported ransom note in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "TODAY" show anchor Savannah Guthrie. And it comes as the family makes a new plea to whoever took her.

At least three media outlets received notes. The FBI says the first deadline was 5 p.m. yesterday. That has passed. The other one comes on Monday. It also says there was a mention of Nancy Guthrie's Apple Watch and a floodlight at the home. Now, TMZ is one of the outlets that received the note. The founder, Harvey Levin, told "CNN" the letter indicated Nancy is OK but scared and that the family will have no way of contacting her captor or captors. Levin also mentioned a key detail in the note about the Apple Watch that could prove whether it's 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 -- is OK but scared. So, they say she is OK and also that she's aware of the letter and the demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There is also a new video from the family. Nancy Guthrie's son Camron issued this new appeal on social media. Notably, it was released right around the same time that the first purported ransom deadline passed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMRON 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)

BERMAN: All right, let's get right to CNN's Marybel Gonzalez, live outside Nancy Guthrie's home in Arizona for the very latest this morning. What are you hearing?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, no suspects and a new reward. That is the latest in the search for 84- year-old Nancy Guthrie.

The FBI, now working with local law enforcement, is offering $50,000 for information that can lead to the recovery of Nancy. Of course, top of mind are these purported ransom notes.

Now, authorities, as of yesterday, have not confirmed whether or not these are legitimate, but say they are taking them very seriously, and so is the Guthrie family from those videos posted on social media that you just heard.

Now, those ransom notes sent to several media outlets, at least one of them demands millions of dollars in Bitcoin, and those who have seen these purported ransom notes say it also details sensitive information that only someone who is privy to this case would know.

Now, authorities, in their latest update, also provided a timeline into Nancy's disappearance. They say she was dropped off here at her home on Saturday evening, and that right around 1:47 a.m. is when her doorbell camera disconnected. A little bit later, at 2:12 a.m., they say the camera picked up activity, although no video is available of what that could show.

Another key detail that we learned is that there was blood that was recovered on the porch of Nancy's home that you see behind me, and that upon examining those samples, they were able to determine that that blood was Nancy. Now, authorities say they are working under the assumption that she is

alive, but have not yet received any proof of life. They are keeping that hope very much alive. And so, is the community here in Tucson. We know that they've been rallying behind the Guthrie family, organizing vigils for the safe return of Nancy.

[08:05:11]

And then also now we've heard from the Pima County Sheriff flooding their telephone lines with messages of support. The sheriff has asked people to instead post those messages on social media to keep that line open.

John?

BERMAN: Obviously, again, every minute counts here. Marybel Gonzalez in Arizona, thank you so much for your reporting on this.

Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Joining me now is retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent James A. Gagliano.

Thank you so much for being here. Look, what is your take on the information that is out there now about these ransom notes, one in particular, the far apart deadlines in one of them, the Apple Watch detail, the one-way communication as well?

JAMES A. GAGLIANO, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Yeah. Sara, this is just a baffling and unusual case. Look, kidnappings happen for one of two reasons. They're either for profit or they're for revenge. And in this instance, law enforcement has not come out yet and messaged directly to suggest this was a targeted kidnapping.

FBI has been doing this a long time, going back to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping in 1932, Frank Sinatra Jr. was a celebrity that was kidnapped in 1963, Patricia Hearst in the 70s. This case, to your point, does not check those boxes.

Really quickly, why? Well, one of the things here is the fact that they had multiple deadlines and the fact that the kidnappers, the people who abducted Mrs. Guthrie, didn't want to deal back-channel with the family only. They went public, and that part of it is the most beguiling part because the Guthrie family has been reaching out and beseeching them to maintain contact. That's what makes this such an unusual case, Sara.

SIDNER: Yeah, you talk about the Guthrie family, and for a second time they reached out. This time, first it was Savannah and her sister, and now Savannah's brother has reached out and asked, pleaded, with whoever it took, their mother, to make contact. And so far, as you said, that has not happened.

You've been involved in hostage negotiations. How difficult is this one, from the details that we now have so far, because it is now, we are going into the sixth day, and I know, and you have said this many times, that time is of the essence.

GAGLIANO: Yeah. This is a tough case for a number of reasons. First of all, there's about a 14-hour window there from the time Mrs. Guthrie got home until the notification from church and the family alerted authorities at 12 noon the next day. You've got a crime scene that's about 3,100 square feet. It's in a cozy neighborhood about 60 miles north of the Mexico border.

I worked south of the border for a number of years and worked many different kind of abductions and kidnappings. This one doesn't make sense, the way the kidnappers are working. And you also pointed out the multiple deadlines. Typically in an abduction, the kidnappers are going to give a deadline. If the authorities or the family doesn't meet said deadline, some negative consequence happens. That does not appear to be the case, at least publicly here. It is head-scratchingly odd the way that this is all being conducted from the kidnappers' perspective.

SIDNER: Is there -- I mean, look, there is more than one ransom note that has been sent out to media organizations. And we heard from Harvey Levin, because one was sent to TMZ, which he runs, that there were some details in it, and one of them was that -- that Nancy Guthrie is aware of what is going on and that she is scared. Of all the things that we've heard so far, do any of these notes, sort of the details that we're getting from them, the scant details, give you, I don't know, information that they're legitimate?

GAGLIANO: Yeah. I'm not entirely certain of that. And I certainly don't have any inside investigation, you know, information regarding this case. But the fact that the -- that the abductors mentioned a floodlight, they mentioned something inside the house that could have been common knowledge, this looks targeted. You can't guarantee it. Obviously, you've got to wait. You've got to follow the evidence bereft of fear or favor. But at this juncture right now, the way that the kidnappers are, one, they're using modernity here because they're using Bitcoin or cryptocurrency for the ransom money. Two, the fact that they're dealing publicly as opposed to dealing privately with the family.

And three, the fact that the family gave those two impassioned appeals, one by Savannah the other night and last night by the brother. This tells you a lot. You have to, as an investigator, listen with your third ear. The FBI, law enforcement, cannot compel any family to do something or not do something in this case. They're in an advisory capacity.

[08:10:13]

And just from the language that was being used by Savannah and her brother, very precise language indicating they have not received any other reach outs. And they're basically in the dark right now. So, that's what makes this such a tough case from the motivation perspective. Was it revenge or was it for profit? And I think investigators have reached a dead end. And that's why the sheriff of Pima County is basically saying they're going to start putting up literal figure physical billboards to try to crowdsource this and get more people to come forward with information.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, there's just so many questions. In the meantime, the family is devastated and heartbroken and scared and worried. And certainly, Ms. Guthrie would be in the same position.

James A. Gagliano, it is such a pleasure to have you here as someone who has very familiar with trying to negotiate these really difficult cases. I do appreciate it, and we'll be talking to you again.

Right ahead, right now, U.S. and Iranian officials are gathering for high stakes nuclear talks. Will there be any kind of a breakthrough?

And Luigi Mangione heading back to court this morning. What we could learn today about his trial.

Plus, rescuers rushing into a burning home to try to save people that were trapped inside this inferno.

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[08:16:02]

BERMAN: All right, we're trying to get some new details on the talks underway between the U.S. and Iran. We've learned that the commander of U.S. Central Command is part of these meetings, alongside Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. These are pictures with actually an Omani representative. Oman is hosting these talks. These are incredibly rare negotiations with high-level Iranian officials.

The first talks at all since the U.S. bombed nuclear sites. Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House for the latest on what you're hearing here. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yeah, look, from my conversations with people here at the White House, and we did hear the White House Press Secretary, John, Karoline Leavitt, lay some of this out yesterday. From the president's posture, from this White House's posture, they do want to see if they can pursue a diplomatic approach to this, some sort of diplomatic negotiation to make a new nuclear deal.

And I'd remind you that this was actually, these talks had been long in the making. Even after the U.S. had bombed those Iranian nuclear facilities last summer, they had begun some of these considerations.

I had reported on Witkoff. Steve Whitkoff, who was obviously in the room in these talks in Oman today, was working out how they could get to some sort of place where they could ensure that Iran's nuclear program was -- you know, had limits on it. And that's really going to be a big focus of today.

Now, I will say we did hear from the U.S. side, people like the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying it's not just the nuclear program they want to discuss. They also want to discuss the ongoing crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Iran, something we've, of course, seen the president issue several threats, including potential military threats if Iran continued to kill those protesters. However, the Iranians are saying they want these talks to be limited to the nuclear program.

Now, for the president's part, one of the things that they think that they have as leverage is the massive buildup of U.S. military in the region. The president has referred to it as an armada, but he's also been issuing threats if a nuclear deal is not ultimately reached. I want you to listen to what he told "NBC" earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: I would say he should be very worried, yeah, he should be. As you know, they're negotiating with us.

TOM LLAMAS, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: I know they are, but the protesters have said, you know, where are the Americans? You promised them we would have their back. Do we still have their back?

TRUMP: Well, we've had their back, and look, that country's a mess right now because of us. We went in, we wiped out their nuclear.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: So, I didn't take out, you know, we have peace in the Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, with that rhetoric, you know, one of the key things I think from the Iranians is going to be deciding how real those threats are, engaging from Kushner and Witkoff on the ground about whether or not they can really come to some sort of diplomatic off-ramp here. So, we'll have to see how all these talks play out.

I do know that the president is expecting to get an update from both Witkoff and Kushner once they wrap.

John?

BERMAN: Yeah, we're waiting for a readout of these meetings. Standing by for that, Alayna Treene, thank you very much.

A car slams into a grocery store, trapping shoppers beneath it. What we are learning now about fatalities.

And at this moment, we should be teasing that there would be a federal jobs report coming out in just minutes, but there is no report coming this morning. Why not? And when we can expect one.

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[08:23:08]

SIDNER: This morning, Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is due back in court. This hearing comes just days after a judge ruled the death penalty off the table in the federal case. CNN's Kara Scannell is live outside of the court for us.

What are we expecting from this hearing today? What's it all about?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Well, Sara, the judge scheduled this hearing just days after the Manhattan District Attorney's Office wrote a letter to him saying they want their trial against Luigi Mangione, where he's facing state murder charges, to start on July 1st, two months before the federal trial. The prosecutor said that they have a deep interest in bringing justice to this case.

This murder occurred on the streets of Manhattan. They say that they co-led the investigation with the NYPD, that they had interviewed witnesses, and that they brought the first indictment in this case. They also said that it is common for murder cases to be prosecuted by state and local authorities in New York, not by federal officials. So, they're expected to come in today and urge the judge to set this trial for July 1st.

Now, Mangione's lawyer has not officially weighed in yet, but she said in a statement that it would be unreasonable to go to trial that quickly. And while they have to prepare for their defense of the federal charges, where that trial is expected to start on September 8th.

The stakes here are pretty significant for the D.A.'s office. If the federal case goes first, it's very likely Mangione's lawyers will argue that under New York laws, that there is double jeopardy and that the state murder charges should be thrown out. So, that is why we are seeing this setup today, where we expect to hear from the prosecutors to urge the judge to fast track their case so they get to trial first.

One thing that is still outstanding, the judge has not yet ruled on some of these evidence rulings, where the defense has wanted to get evidence that was recovered in Mangione's backpack, including a firearm that authorities say linked back to the crime scene. They want that thrown out of the case. The judge has not ruled on that. He said he would rule in May. And as you can see, just based on the calendar, that's a pretty tight timeframe.

[08:25:11]

So, we will wait to see if the judge rules on this today. It's unclear if he will, but we're expecting to hear these arguments about who gets to go first when they bring their case against Mangione.

Sara?

SIDNER: All right, Kara Scannell. You've been following this from the very beginning. Thank you so much. I do appreciate you.

All right. There are new details emerging from the ransom notes surrounding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. What TMZ is telling CNN about the note that they received and what we're learning about the so-called deadlines and demands in that particular note.

Plus, a man rescued after a sailboat broke down in really rough waters. How he's doing this morning. Goodness.

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SIDNER: A new plea from the family of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "TODAY" show host, Savannah Guthrie. It's now been six days since Nancy was apparently abducted from her home outside of Tucson, Arizona. Her son Camron posting this message to her captor or captors.

[08:30:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. GUTHRIE: Whoever is out there.