Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Interview with Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA): New Details on What Trump Will Say in State of Union Speech; New Winter Blast on the Way as Millions Dig Out from Bomb Cyclone; Footage of Suspect at Guthrie's Door From 2 Different Days. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired February 24, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

TYLER JOHNSON, AMERICAN STRANDED IN MEXICO: I know folks that were here, they sent over an employee, gave us a safe ride back over here, and we just tried to take a shower, be as comfortable as we can. I've been on the phone with family and friends and media, so it's -- I'm running off about four hours of sleep though, so, and that's since probably Sunday, so -- or Saturday.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's four hours of sleep.

JOHNSON: This is an extended vacation that we did not want.

BERMAN: One you will never forget. Glad you're doing OK. Glad it seems like things are improving.

Get home safely. Tyler Johnson, thank you very much.

A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Trump's big night. New details are coming in on what the president's message will be tonight. He's already said it's going to be a long one, a long speech. What's that going to mean?

And record-breaking storms and freezing temperatures after all of the storm that we just saw that just swept across the Northeast is on its way out. Now more snowfall is on the way in.

And cows on the lam in upstate New York, and traffic brought to a standstill.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, more details are being revealed about what President Trump will say during his State of the Union speech tonight. White House officials say the theme will be, quote, "America at 250, strong, prosperous, and respected." And he's expected to focus heavily on the economy.

Here's how he previewed it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a country that's now doing well. We have the greatest economy we've ever had. We have the most activity we've ever had.

I'm making a speech tomorrow night, and you'll be hearing me say that. I mean, it's going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: But here's how the numbers on the economy stack up. Economic growth slowed to just 1.4 percent in the last quarter. Only 181,000 jobs total were added in 2025, and inflation cooling last month to 2.4 percent year-over-year, but still higher than economists and consumers would like it.

There's also this, the latest CNN poll showing President Trump's approval rating is now at a very low 36 percent, down from 48 percent last February.

A number of Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott his speech tonight, and that includes Congressman Ami Bera of California, who joins me now. He serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees.

Thank you so much for being here, Congressman. First of all, why are you skipping going to in person to this speech?

REP. AMI BERA (D-CA), HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEES: Yes, Sara, thanks for having me on. Yes, I gave it a lot of thought here and generally go out of respect for the Office of the Presidency. Right now, I can't do that because the President shown utter disrespect for Congress as a separate branch of government.

You know, I would hope the President does stick to the teleprompter, gives a unifying speech, talks about the future of this country and where we're headed. I actually expect him to be throwing insults at Democrats. I don't think he'll stick to the script.

You know, we'll see if he goes after the Supreme Court after he just got rebuked on his tariffs.

SIDNER: Look, you have a differing opinion from some of your other Democratic colleagues. You know, for example, Elizabeth Warren says, "Look, I want to go. I want to hear what he has to say and be able to respond to it."

She is also asking for tariffs that were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court to be paid back to small businesses and consumers. Do you join her in that? And do you think it is ever going to happen?

BERA: You know, I think we ought to figure this out. This is something Congress should take up in our committees. The Ways and Means Committee should look at the billions of dollars that have been collected. That shouldn't be a slush fund for the President. We should try to figure out how to get that back to small businesses, to farmers, to others. Again, I think it's going to be complicated, but it is something that Congress should take up.

SIDNER: Look, in polling throughout these this past year in 2025, Democrats have not been doing well either when it comes to their work in Congress, according to the American people. So what should the Democratic response look like?

BERA: You know, I think we should understand that the American people want secure borders. They're OK going after undocumented folks that are criminals. They don't want to see mass ICE agents and unmarked vans picking up and scooping up folks based on the color of their skin or the language that they speak.

They're really uncomfortable with what they saw in Minneapolis. They understand that they want the rest of the world to play by the same rules. They tax our goods and services, but these haphazard tariffs back and forth are just passing costs onto consumers.

[08:05:00]

And they want us to focus on bringing down the cost of living, cost of health insurance, cost of food, cost of rent, their mortgages. Those are crushing American families. That's what they want us to focus on.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope the President talks about all of those things, and I hope he works with Congress on it. But for the last year, he has not done any of that.

SIDNER: I want to ask you this because you also are in the field of medicine, and we've been hearing a lot about Make America Healthy Again, and there is a huge rift that has just broken open because of something RFK has said, that he said we need more herbicide production, which has stunned those who have been supportive of the MAHA movement, as it is so called. What do you make of what is happening here? And the latest from RFK about herbicides, some of which have been shown to give people cancer.

BERA: Absolutely. You know, we've been over the years banning a lot of these pesticides, these herbicides that have shown detrimental effect on the human body. And then, as you said, Sara, sometimes leading to cancer.

We shouldn't go backwards on this. You know, we should look for healthier, better ways to protect our crops. But again, I think this is going backwards, and I think you'll see pushback from some of the very people that support RFK Jr.

SIDNER: Yes, you are seeing that. You're definitely seeing some people who have been very supportive of the Make America Healthy Again movement lashing out. I do want to ask you if some of what you're seeing come out of the work that RFK Jr. has been doing is performative. For example, he did something that, by the way, the governor of your state of California also did, which was banning certain dyes in food. But then you have this strange twist where he's saying, I'm OK with herbicides. Some of them, as I mentioned, that actually can cause cancer in human beings. What do you make of what they are trying to do there at Health and Human Services?

BERA: Yes, so I'm going to guess that he heard the president talk about these herbicides and removing some of these bans on the herbicides, and he's following the president's lead. Look, most of what RFK Jr. has done thus far has been detrimental on vaccines, on raw milk and things like that. You know, those aren't things that I generally support.

That said, if we can get the healthier foods, if we can get the healthier herbicides, pesticides, again, work with us in Congress and we can try to figure some of that out.

SIDNER: Congressman Ami Bera, it is a pleasure. Thank you so much. And I'm sure we'll be talking to you sometime soon, though you will not be at the State of the Union speech tonight -- John.

BERMAN: All right, an important development in the search for Nancy Guthrie. We're told that images from the doorbell camera, these two images you're seeing right here. It's possible they came from separate nights. The suspect apparently casing the location before the abduction.

And then it stops snowing, we think, for now. But this morning, new travel disruptions to worry about.

And a hiker rescued after being missing for five days in the remote wilderness.

[09:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: After a record-breaking, even historic storm, this morning we are watching a new winter blast that could bring even more snow tonight. Parts of New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts saw more than 30 inches of snowfall. More than 12,000 flights were canceled from Sunday through today but now travel bans across the Northeast are easing up, thank goodness. Just in time, apparently.

CNN's Danny Freeman is at Philadelphia's airport with much more on this, what do you see in there, Danny?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kate, I mean, what a difference 24 hours makes, because at this exact time yesterday, I mean, this airport was pretty much dead. It was at a standstill, flights were not taking off, they were not coming in, cancellations of course through the roof, but today, amazingly, it really does feel like business as usual here in Philly International. The board behind me, pretty much all going out.

But the key hotspots though that still are problematic though, of course, to the North, New York, Boston, certainly Providence, those are all places though that are still feeling the travel headaches of this massive winter storm. So like you said, Kate, about 12,000 flights canceled between Sunday and today, 2,000 flights specifically still canceled today, and again, most of them in that New York and Boston, New England area. Kate, I just want to run through some of these wild numbers just for today.

Half of flights that were supposed to leave Boston today, they've been canceled. Nearly half of flights from both LaGuardia and Newark, they've been canceled as well. They're not going to be leaving today.

JFK seems to be the one where only 41 percent of flights leaving are canceled, but again, still, it is a slow process to get these airports back up after that massive, massive, record-breaking snowfall over the course of the past few days. But I got to say, when I talk about the travel headaches, especially when we're talking about New England, you can see how people are really trying to piecemeal together different trips just to get back to the New York area. I was talking to a couple who had to fly from LAX to Atlanta to get to Pittsburgh, only then to be able to fly to New York after their flight was canceled back on Sunday evening.

Another couple trying to get to Baltimore just to try and get onto Amtrak to then train up to New York, again, because their flight going back to New York was canceled. This is the puzzle piece that so many travelers are trying to piece together to get back to their home destinations, and, of course, if you're looking to get out of these airports in the New York and Boston area, still headaches to come.

[08:15:00]

So this ripple effect, Kate, not just felt the past few days, it's likely going to be felt throughout the entirety of the week as the cancellations maintain sticky in those big airports to the north -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: That's exactly right. Danny, thank you so much for the update. Really appreciate it.

Here we go again, Sara.

SIDNER: Kate, that is literally what Danny just said is exactly what I did. It looked exactly word for word. I ended up in Baltimore.

I took the Amtrak to get here because I wanted to be with you.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: Not so much John, but with you.

BOLDUAN: Everyone believes this face, believes every bit of it.

SIDNER: Had to get back to work. What could you do? I got to get paid sometimes, maybe.

All right, ahead. How did the Mexican special forces find and take out one of its most powerful and notorious drug lords, El Mencho? It turns out it all hinged on his lover.

Plus, an accused school shooter's mom taking the stand to testify against her estranged husband, saying he didn't want their son to get help for his mental health issues. Those stories and more ahead.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, a potentially important development this morning in the search for Nancy Guthrie. CNN has learned that photos taken from and images taken from Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera apparently come from different nights. I will explain here.

So you've seen the video, OK? You've seen the video from the doorbell camera. You can see the suspect right here.

You can see the backpack strapped right there. Before, you could see the gun strapped to his belt there. This is a still image of that.

You can see it one more time. Backpack and gun. But there always has been a separate image that has caused some questions, raised some questions.

This is the suspect here. No backpack, no gun strapped to his belt. Side by side, again, it's even more pronounced.

You can see in this photo, taken from the night that Nancy Guthrie disappeared. Backpack, gun. This photo, no backpack, no gun.

And now we have learned it is possible, perhaps even probable, according to our sources, that these photos come from different nights.

With us now is retired FBI special agent Daniel Brunner. Thank you so much for being with us.

And just so people know, because it may explain why there were two separate dates initially that authorities wanted video footage from, this is the date that Nancy Guthrie disappeared, the night between January 31 and February 1. There was a time when they were asking neighbors for footage from Sunday, January 11th. Now we don't know for sure if that's the date from the other photo, but there is some speculation it might be.

So how does this all add up to you?

DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, it adds up that, first of all, you have to say we're so fortunate to have this video because it's the amazing work of the FBI cast analysis team and working with Nest to be able to recover this because she didn't have a subscription. So the fact that they were able to recover this is just remarkable in and itself. But the fact that we, I've seen this from the beginning, and I saw the two different breakups, one where he didn't have a backpack, one where he has a backpack, it's possible. And the investigators can't go down the pipeline of if either they definitively know or they definitively don't if it doesn't have a timestamp. All of these provide vital clues. But the fact that the individual most likely appears to be a case in the location before the event obviously offers up that this was pre-planned.

This was an incident that they knew it wasn't a happen chance just by skipping up on this one house. This was an incident that I believe that this individual planned on or maybe he was conducting this approach on that first day and Ms. Guthrie wasn't home. So maybe this attack was actually being -- he tried to make this happen on that first photograph and then he came back on the second one and she was home.

So there's lots of different clues that can be obtained from this.

BERMAN: Yes, again, this photo here matches what we see in the video with the backpack and gun. This photo here does not match that. And just to be clear, the Pima County Sheriff did put out a statement last night saying there's no date or timestamp associated with these images.

Therefore, any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative. That's the sheriff, we should note, not quite aligned with the indications that we're getting from sources. But be that as it may, if you do have these two separate images here and if they do in fact come from two separate dates, how then can authorities use that, use those two separate data points to focus their investigation?

BRUNNER: Well, a lot of it, if they have the timestamp associated with those dates on the video, if they know exactly when and where, they're able to look at geolocation via the cell phone towers and see if there's one match. Obviously, cell phone towers in the area, there are going to be a lot of phones pinging, and they'll be able to understand who was a neighbor, who was somebody. If there was a phone number that appeared only on that date and only on the other date of the kidnapping, that is a lead, that's going to be a potential lead.

But one of the things that few people are talking about is the release of this video. I believe the releasing of this video by FBI leadership, whether it be Cash Patel or others, really jeopardized this investigation by giving away and letting the individuals who have conducted this attack acknowledge that we knew about the videos. These videos are ripe with intelligence, and they didn't give the opportunity for all the case agents and the support staff to really analyze it.

So there's different leads that still can be had and there's different directions that this still could go.

[08:25:00]

BERMAN: I will say that they knew apparently that these images came from different times and locations. We only found out about it last night, overnight for the first time. So they did keep that back. The question then is why? Why would they have kept that information quiet?

BRUNNER: Well, because like I said, there's a lot of information with the public that we want to know. We want to know everything that's going on. But the important thing is we don't need to know.

The investigators are the ones that really need to know everything. They want to be able to look at the data. They want to look at the geolocation, the cell phones, the cast analysis team, the special agents on the ground, and then doubling that up with tips that are coming in.

This is a multi-piece, a multi-jigsaw puzzle investigation and putting it all together without letting the bad guys know that the FBI is onto them is incredibly important.

BERMAN: Daniel Brunner, thank you so much for your time this morning. Appreciate it -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, the White House spokesperson giving new details as we're speaking on what President Trump will talk about during his State of the Union speech. One thing we know, he says it will be long.

Plus, what happens after a driver crashes into a pond? See this incredible rescue next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]