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Savannah Guthrie Says, We are At an Hour of Desperation, Need Your Help; Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) Says, Will Release Six Redacted Names If Survivors Want Me To; Miami Herald Reports, in 2006, Trump Told Palm Beach Police Chief Everyone Knew About Epstein. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired February 10, 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, desperation intensified. The ransom deadlines have come and gone, and still no sign of Nancy Guthrie. Now, a new plea to the public from NBC Today Show Anchor Savannah Guthrie as a search for her abducted 84-year-old mom stretches into the tenth day.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A call to name names. The congressmen who forced the release of the Epstein files say they saw six names of men, likely incriminated, they say, in the documents, including public figures. This morning, they want to make those names wide known.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And police and workers, they were bracing for the worst after a suspected break-in at a Oklahoma nonprofit. Then came the surveillance video, which revealed raccoons gone wild again.

I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

A new plea for your help. NBC Today Show Anchor Savannah Guthrie says we are at an hour of desperation, describing the agonizing search for her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie. It's now been ten days since police say the 84-year-old was abducted from her home near Tucson, Arizona. Here is the new post from Savannah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NANCY GUTHRIE'S DAUGHTER: We believe our mom is still out there. We need your help.

Law enforcement is working tirelessly around the clock, trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken and we don't know where, and we need your help.

So, I'm coming on just to ask you, not just for your prayers, but no matter where you are, even if you're far from Tucson, if you see anything, you hear anything, if there's anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement. We are at an hour of desperation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Meantime, we are getting a new statement from the FBI. They say they have sent additional personnel to Tucson to work on this case, but are, quote, not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and the suspected kidnapper or kidnappers. The FBI also saying at this point in the investigation they have not identified a suspect or even a person of interest.

Ransom notes sent to CNN-affiliate KGUN and other media outlets demanded a $6 million Bitcoin payment by 5:00 P.M. yesterday. Of course, that deadline has now passed. TMZ Founder Harvey Levin, whose media outlet was among those that received the ransom note, says the chilling message included a direct, stark statement about consequences if the payment was not made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARVEY LEVIN, TAMZ FOUNDER, RECEIVED PRUPORTED RANSOM NOTE: I want to read you just -- I'll read you one line from the ransom note we received and they say, it is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible.

I don't think there is direct contact. I read this first ransom letter as almost braggadocious, that it's sort of, you know, you're not going to find me, the police aren't going to be able to help you. I am not going to get -- I'm not going to give you any more information. Don't bother trying to find me. I, you know, it feels almost like you are not going to figure out who I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Wow. All right, that's the latest from the scene there. John?

BERMAN: Let's try to figure out what this all means.

With us now is Daniel Brunner. He's a retired FBI Special Agent. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

So, we saw the video of Savannah saying they're in their hour of desperation. One of these alleged deadlines came and passed, and the Guthrie family is making a direct plea to the public everywhere to help. So, what does that tell you about where they think things stand?

DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: I think it's -- as this investigation started ten days ago, I was worried on a daily basis that you know that her -- Ms. Guthrie would be able to get her medication, to get taken care of.

[07:05:00]

Now, I think we're at an hourly basis that, you know, to successfully find a successful outcome of this.

I think these new messages show that they really understand their time pressure and putting these messages out there will create more leads, more information, more people to start looking out their window and see if there is a suspicious vehicle coming and going of odd hours, if there are people who aren't at their job, which they normally are, and these people that may, you know, strangely be talking about Savannah Guthrie before this event was.

This isn't an effort to generate more leads for the investigation using crowdsourcing, talking to the public. That's how Mangione was caught by, you know, Pennsylvania, in Pennsylvania, because of crowdsourcing, using the media. If there are no leads that the investigation is being able to be -- the investigation still is moving forward. They're moving it, they're getting leads, they're looking for finds. But at the same time, crowdsourcing is an excellent place to get more information,

BERMAN: The person or persons who may be behind this, you know, we still don't even know if any of these notes are directly tied to them. Let's take it and assume for a second that they are. What if they are tied to these people or person, what does it tell you about how they operate, because they haven't made it easy?

BRUNNER: And that's exactly it. We don't know if these are legitimate notes. This could be another type of crime. This could have been a home invasion gone bad. I don't believe that's actually what happened. I believe that she was taken from the house. So, in essence, this is a kidnapping. Now, are these messages from the kidnappers, whoever's sending these messages is making a great effort to mask their location, their identity. They're using one-way communication, only to media outlets. They're masking their internet protocols, their I.P. addresses, so that people can't easily find them.

Now, that's one of the things is the FBI has great tools at their disposal. Their investigators can go to the internet providers with exigent circumstance, search warrants, and court orders, and get -- because this is a life-threatening situation, things can be sped up much, much quicker.

So, I am sure that there are multiple teams on the ground looking at the messages. There are multiple teams on the ground looking at the different crypto. Why did they select a certain crypto company to receive the crypto funds? Everything is being conducted. This is a full court press of a major case investigation and literally you can't find a better team to do it than the FBI.

BERMAN: Yes. And just one last thing, the FBI putting out that statement, they're not aware of any continued communications between the Guthrie family and the suspected kidnappers. Can we read that or should we read that as law enforcement saying, hey, kidnappers, you got to give something else here at this point if you want to get this money?

BRUNNER: Absolutely. I think that's one of the things that's what we call is tickling the wire. A lot of these messages that are sent out by Savannah Guthrie are coordinated with the crisis negotiation teams that are sitting there, most likely with her, and they help build these messages.

A lot of these messages are an effort to what's called tickle the wire, create the conversation. Hey, we haven't heard from you. Let's get a message. If this is going to be a continued conversation, let's continue the conversation. Let's get more messages. A, that'll provide hopefully a proof of life, and, B, that'll create more leads, more tips for the investigators if there's a new message and working with the behavioral analysis unit at Quantico.

BERMAN: And everyone can see on our screen right now, or we've been showing it all morning long, the numbers that you can call if you have any information.

Daniel Brunner tickling the wire, a term that is important here, thank you for explaining that so well. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, lawmakers who viewed the unredacted Epstein files say at least six men that they've seen are likely incriminated in those files and being protected by what they describe as overreaction, overredactions that the Justice Department has applied to these files.

And higher tariffs, higher taxes, new data out showing that President Trump's tariffs cost Americans on average a thousand dollars more in taxes last year with also coming with a warning that that number could go even higher.

And could your daily dose of caffeine be a good thing? Please, dear Lord, yes, and even help protect against dementia. We've got new details coming in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: Lawmakers will be back at the Justice Department today to continue going through the Unredacted Epstein files. They got their first look at the documents while Ghislaine Maxwell was being virtually deposed by the House Oversight Committee. She repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, refusing to speak. Her attorney though saying and making clear that she is ready to talk if President Trump grants her clemency for her crimes.

In their first pass at the documents, Republican Congressman Tom Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna, who've led the push to get the files released, they say they made a notable discovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): What I saw that bothered me were the names of at least six men that have been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: They say they want to give the Justice Department to, in their words, check their homework and give them a chance to correct the redactions, which do go way beyond what the law says and dictates that Congress did pass.

Massie later went a bit further, making a threat to name names on the House floor, if need be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Are you willing to say those names on the floor?

MASSIE: Oh, absolutely, I am, if that will serve the survivors. If the survivors want me to, I'll do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And joining me right now, CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson for more on this.

[07:15:01]

So, Joey, of these six names that the congressmen are talking about, they use the word incriminating when talking about what they see in these documents. If Tom Massie and/or Ro Khanna would go forward with naming names on the House floor, how much do you think they can say and reveal? How far can this go? And what does it say that the Justice Department still has these names redacted?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. So, Kate, good morning. First, look at the law, and what does the law say? The law specifically says that you're not going to redact, number one, public figures can't do it, number two, foreign dignitaries, number three, politicians, right? They are not protected by redaction simply to prevent reputational harm. And so in the event they go on the floor and say this, that's just in keeping with what the law would require, and they're asking why redact it to begin with.

Now, redactions are significant. What are redactions? When you black out certain things. The law requires that certain things do get redacted. Like what? Personal identifying information, medical information, depictions of child pornography of any type, classified information, information that may be under investigation, an active investigation or prosecution. But this, with respect to protecting people no, can do, it's against the law. And they are right, the Congressional leaders that we saw there, to be concerned.

BOLDUAN: And one -- and just for -- add to this for awareness, there's a speech and debate clause, which protects members of Congress, why Tom Massie is talking about going to the house floor, because they are broadly protected from any kind of legal action for what they say on the House floor. Why that is, if you will, a safe space.

Let me also ask you about something that just came out. Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald, who broke the whole Epstein story wide open for the world back -- way back when, she has new reporting overnight that in 2006, Donald Trump called the then-Palm Beach Police chief to tell him that Epstein's activities with teenage girls were well known in New York and Palm Beach. And that then police chief said in an FBI interview, which they -- where this is coming from, that Trump told him, quote, thank goodness you're stopping him. Everyone has known he's been doing this.

The police chief told also FBI agents that Trump pointed to Ghislaine Maxwell as well, saying that Trump told the chief Epstein called her Epstein's operative and also then said they should look into her. CNN reached out to the Justice Department about this overnight and they gave a statement saying this. We are not aware of any corroborating evidence that the president contacted law enforcement 20 years ago. What do you make of this?

JACKSON: I make a lot of it. You know, and, again, president hasn't been charged. We'll see, you know, what happens. Meaning prior, there's been no criminal activity associated with him yet. But here's the issue. I would say that this is what we call a prior inconsistent statement. What we do in courtrooms every day throughout the country are, you can say, Kate, whatever you want, don't know Jeffrey Epstein wasn't really a friend of mine, didn't know his activities, wasn't aware. But when you're confronted with something you specifically said, when you're confronted with a document that controverts exactly what you're saying, you have some explaining to do.

So, if your narrative is, I didn't know, was unaware, didn't really know the guy, didn't really hang out with the guy, and then there's this that comes up, if it is corroborated and supported, which would suggest that you knew a lot more, then that means that you've been misleading. That means that you haven't been fully truthful with the American people. That becomes problematic.

BOLDUAN: This is interesting, Julie K. Brown doing amazing reporting from Miami Herald. But, again, lots of questions to be answered, continue to push the Justice Department on it, especially about these files.

JACKSON: Oh, yes.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much, Joey.

JACKSON: Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Kate.

New this morning, new data shows Americans are paying the price for President Trump's global trade war. The tax foundation shows found that tariff costs the average U.S. household -- tariffs cost the U.S. average household a thousand dollars last year. That cost is expected to rise this year to $1,300. The nonpartisan think tank notes that the tariffs are the largest U.S. tax increase as a percentage of GDP since 1993. Many Americans are still dealing with higher prices as well as consumer prices increased slightly at the end of last year, driving the annual inflation rate to 2.7 percent.

All right, ahead, YouTube and Meta go on trial accused of being addiction machines. Lawyers argue their products are damaging the mental health of users.

And 2,300 miles, 108 days, 19 Buddhist monks, 1 mission. Their cross country walk ends today in D.C. Why'd they do it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. Happening now, it feels like a heat wave. I mean, it's still basically freezing, but everything is relative.

Let's get right to CNN's Derek Van Dam, going to break out the tank top, Derek, to go outside today.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, boy, people would pay to see that, John. I love how you hold onto any glimmer of hope that you possibly can, and maybe there are some signs with Mother Nature that things are changing. Take this, for example, came across a satellite image of a crack in the ice on Lake Erie. That's what we're talking about this morning. Look at this. This extends all the way from Ontario to Cleveland, Ohio. Yes, maybe it's a sign that there's some changes afoot in the weather patterns, or maybe it's just not all that it cracked up to be. I don't know. Maybe as bad as my joke, right?

Let's talk about the temperatures this morning. It's still very cold, not as cold as what we've experienced, but I want to tell you about what's happening later today because there's more green on this map than there was yesterday, and a lot of temperatures above the freezing mark, which is the change.

Albany, poor Albany, you haven't seen the mercury and the thermometer go above the freezing mark in over two weeks. We're going to teeter on that day today. Hopefully we get to 33 degrees, but it's not looking likely.

[07:25:00]

But I want to show you just how we could have above average temperatures today for a few key locations, from the nation's capital into New York City. We'll take it because this is certainly better than what it's been. Yesterday, Omaha reached 75 degrees, so there's the glimmer of hope. That's the daily record for them. The earliest has been that warm for Omaha, Nebraska, ever. So, that's saying something.

But there's big changes that are happening and it's kind of moving from west to east. So, we're going to see kind of the warmth that's built across the central parts of the country. Move eastward, a brief shot of cooler than average temperatures, but largely we're going to see the cold air shift to the West Coast, and here's the sign of the pattern change, because we're breaking down that incessant ridge that has lacked the snowfall in some of the key areas across the Sierra Nevadas, the Intermountain West, the ski resorts finally going to open up that storm door, bring some much needed relief with snowfall and precipitation in the areas that need it the most.

So, John, you said a tank top. You're going to go celebrate outdoors because it's above freezing today? Was that the deal? BERMAN: Well, or a tube top. Listen, it's 20 to 30 degrees warmer than it has been, Derek, which I said is a lot warmer. Thank you very much for that. Sara?

VAN DAM: You got it.

SIDNER: I'm not going to make any comments about tank tops. I like them. I don't recommend them right now.

BERMAN: And my short shorts.

SIDNER: Okay. Speaking of short shorts, weird, burned bridges. Ahead, Trump threatens to shut down the U.S. and Canada Bridge. And now President Trump threatening to block the opening of the new bridge connecting Detroit to Ontario.

And just call it a basket brawl, what sparked this heated moment on the court that led to four players being ejected.

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[07:30:00]