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Trump Administration Imposes New Sanctions Targeting Iran Ahead of Talks; Investigators Return to Nancy Guthrie's Tucson Home; Scientists Discover a Key to Staying Mentally Sharp in Old Age. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 25, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

JASON SMITH, BARROW COUNTY, GA CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR: ... And that Colt had retrieved the firearm from Collins bedroom and taken it into his room to clean or mess with. Ultimately towards the end of the interview Colin admitted that Colt was allowed sometimes to keep the rifle in his room leaned up in the corner.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now actually the testimony and the evidence has been that it was in the room continually that rifle. Also though he said in that interview that Colt didn't want to go to school. He said that everybody at school now knew that his mother was a meth head and he didn't want to go back and he said that he was really concerned about his image at school around the kids and even the teachers because of his mother and what had happened to her.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: All right Jean Casarez appreciate the reporting and watching it for us and you all can catch some more of the trial on CNN ALL ACCESS by going to cnn.com/watch.

All right a top general tries to avoid conflicts with President Trump while preparing for possible war with Iran. We'll tell you what we know about the mission after the break.

[14:35:00]

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ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: While President Trump made his case for a possible military strikes in Iran during last night's State of the Union address, CNN has learned that back at the Pentagon, top U.S. generals are dealing with what's really a delicate balancing act. We're told that military leaders have been busy drafting operations plans while also quietly raising concerns about the impact of any potential U.S. strike and the risk of U.S. casualties.

Joining us now with more is CNN senior national security reporter Zachary Cohen. So the president has been pretty bullish here, right, on what he wants to do, but there understandably is a fair amount of caution being thrown at him as well. Where do things stand at the Pentagon? ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, really is walking a tightrope of sorts. He's correctly identified a priority in maintaining a relationship with Donald Trump and really preserving his place in Donald Trump's inner circle. His voice, our sources say, is really taken with a lot of weight, especially when it comes to operational planning, like with the military buildup in the Middle East right now.

At the same time, sources said that General Caine sometimes appears to pull his punches when he's talking to Trump directly, trying to really balance that need for the president to have all of the information about the potential risks of a military operation with not wanting to almost inadvertently push himself out of that inner circle. And so the planning process for this potential conflict with Iran really does kind of underscore that. We know the president, as you said, has been really bullish and confident in how easy it would be for the U.S. to win a military conflict with Iran if he chooses to go that route.

We're told the privately inside the Pentagon, General Caine and other military leaders have really acknowledged concerns about the scale of the complexity and about the potential for U.S. casualties if they were to launch a major operation. We're also told that in a situation room meeting just last week, General Caine acknowledged what we've heard some other administration officials allude to, which is he doesn't know what the outcome of a military operation with the goal of regime change would be.

And I think that is really the big question. But at the same time, he has presented President Trump with options where the goal would be regime change. So sort of a gap there, and it's certainly not matching the rhetoric coming from the president.

HILL: No, and the concern being that regime change may not turn out the way that perhaps the president would hope, and that's one of the big concerns.

COHEN: Absolutely. And there is questions if the president is being fully made aware of that potential and of the risks as he's considering what is really a momentous decision.

HILL: Yes.

COHEN: One that we've been told General Caine has not spoken about with the level of confidence he did ahead of the Maduro operation in Venezuela.

That was, by all accounts, a pretty impressive military feet and one that General Caine expressed high confidence in that it would be successful before it happened. Does not appear to be the case as far as any sort of operation dealing with Iran.

HILL: Yes, well, it seems the president holds him in fairly high regards finishing how much he listens to General Caine. Appreciate it, Zachary, thank you. Well, we now know which astronaut have the medical issue on the International Space Station, the one that led to that unprecedented early end to the mission. We'll give you an update on the recovery ahead.

[14:40:00]

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JIMENEZ: New today in the search for Nancy Guthrie, investigators were back at her Tucson home as the stretch -- as the search, excuse me, stretches into its fourth week. A group of seasoned volunteers from Mexico, known as the Searching Mothers of Sonora, has joined efforts in Arizona. They're women who know the pain of losing someone they love.

Since the group began in 2019, they say they've helped locate more than 5,000 missing people in Mexico, both dead and alive.

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CECELIA FLORES, FOUNDER, SEARCHING MOTHERS OF SONORA (through translator): Many people say, why are you searching for the dead? We search for people alive or dead. We have to make visible that there is an absence.

NANCY, MEMBER, SEARCHING MOTHERS OF SONORA (through translator): Every disappearance hurts. As mothers, we become one family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now before coming to the United States, they posted flyers for Nancy in nearby Nogales, Mexico, about an hour south of Tucson. Mexican authorities, though, say there's no indication Nancy Guthrie is in Mexico, but the group says a friend of the Guthrie family requested their help.

Joining me now is Josh Schirard, a former SWAT commander. So Josh, the Searching Mothers, said they applied for a permit to carry out a field search in the Arizona desert here, but that the local sheriff denied the application on grounds it could disturb the official investigation. Can you just help people understand why the sheriff would turn away what seems like extra sets of eyes out there to search for any clues?

JOSH SCHIRARD, FORMER SWAT TEAM COMMANDER: Yes, well, I understand the decision to do so. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I think what's going on here is he's really trying to make sure that they can preserve the integrity of any evidence that they possibly come across.

[14:45:00]

Obviously, in this case, we have seen that evidence has been some of the biggest breaks in the case and pointed investigators in some of the most promising directions with DNA and some of the other forensic evidence that has been found. And so I think that in this case they're afraid that if this group does come across any of that critical evidence that they can use to help identify a suspect or help identify where Nancy might be, that its integrity is going to be compromised and won't later be able to be used in prosecution down the line.

JIMENEZ: And you know, people have looked at just geographically where Tucson is and its proximity to the border, U.S.-Mexican border, and have raised that, OK, well, is that a possibility? Mexican authorities to this point have rejected that possibility that she was taken to Mexico. Specifically, the Attorney General in Sonora say that they have not received any requests from the FBI to search for her in the country.

I wonder what you make of that. And how would this investigation be different if there was at least public suspicion that Nancy Guthrie was somewhere in Mexico?

SCHIRARD: Look, we can't rule anything out at this particular juncture. But we have to understand that that proximity to the border may mean that there is a chance that she was either taken down there or that she is still down there. So working with those governments is no different than working with agencies here in the U.S.

Yes, there's a lot more red tape to deal with. And there's a lot more communication that has to occur. But regardless of any evidence that particularly points down to Mexico, we have to understand that proximity alone is enough to make us want to kind of push into that area to assure that we are searching every possible avenue in this particular case.

JIMENEZ: And you know, at this point, the search has been going on for weeks, horrendous situation for the family going through this. You know, the FBI says since the family offered a million dollar reward yesterday, though, 750 credible tips have come in. I just wonder, in your experience, can you just tell me about the significance of increasing the reward money?

And does it actually make that much of an immediate difference? Just again, in your experience here in terms of investigative leads, or at the very least, as we're seeing credible tips.

SCHIRARD: In most of these cases, it's unfortunately not the law enforcement investigators that solve them alone, it takes the community, it takes the help of everyone out there have those eyes and ears and everyone understanding that they are the ones that they can have that critical piece of evidence or surveillance or that that information that leads to a suspect or leads to finding Nancy. Unfortunately, a lot of times, people don't trust law enforcement, they don't want to come forward, they don't want to be involved, they think that their piece of information isn't big enough to share. And sometimes everyone has their price and that money that reward can help kind of push them over that edge, even if they don't trust law enforcement, even if they don't want to get involved. Sometimes that price can be what pushes them over the edge to give them that critical piece of information that actually can lead to a suspect or to actually bringing Nancy home. JIMENEZ: Should this reward have been offered earlier? And I asked that in the sense that does it make a difference if you put out a high amount reward in the beginning versus sort of little by little raising the amount of money as a reward or as an investigation drags on?

SCHIRARD: In my experience, we would generally see if we if we put out an initial reward, let's say the initial reward was $25,000. And we didn't get a lot of traction with that. And the first increase is generally what saw the most, you know, kind of traction when it came to getting in more tips.

So that 25 to that 50 increase, we would see a lot of tips. After that, it's definitely, you know, you're getting diminished returns when you start increasing that reward. But a lot of people that don't think that that first amount is going to do it that second amount, they think, OK, now I'm willing to put aside my differences and provide this information. But I think as we see that increased reward, we're going to continue to see diminishing returns.

750 sounds like a lot. But remember, in the first two weeks, we got, you know, several thousand. So we're definitely seeing less and less tips come in, even as that reward increases.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and as this investigation continues to stretch on family at the center of this looking for any detail, as anyone is right now, that might help. Josh Schirard, really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here- Erica.

HILL: Let's get you caught up now on some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. After spending the last 11 years in a Bali prison for murder, American Tommy Schaefer has now been deported to the U.S. Schaefer was convicted of killing the mother of his former girlfriend, Heather Mack back in 2014.

The case became known as the "Suitcase Murder" after police found the body of Sheila von Wiese Mack, badly beaten and stuffed inside luggage. Schaefer has a court hearing in Chicago tomorrow on conspiracy charges related to the murder.

[14:50:00]

His ex Heather Mack served seven years in Indonesia for the killing and is now serving a 26 year sentence in the United States for her role.

FIFA's president says they are monitoring the situation in Mexico, but at this point they have quote total confidence the country can host World Cup games as scheduled this summer. Mexico is set to host a qualifying playoff next month in Jalisco before the main event kicks off in June. Jalisco, including its capital, Guadalajara, was recently under a state of emergency after a wave of violence prompted by the killing of a top cartel leader over the weekend. President Claudia Sheinbaum says there is no risk for visitors who plan to visit Mexico for the games.

And mystery solved. The astronaut who had a medical event aboard the International Space Station last month, we're learning it's NASA veteran Mike Fink. While Fink didn't share exactly what happened to him, he did say his status, quote, quickly stabilized thanks to the immediate attention that he received from his crewmates. And went on to explain NASA determined the crew should return to Earth to take advantage of, quote, advanced medical imaging not available on the space station.

He also said he's doing well. This is the first time in history NASA had to cut short an ISS staffing mission for health reasons.

Scientists say they have discovered the key to staying mentally sharp at an older age. And we're going to tell you the secret, but you have to stay with us through the break.

[14:55:00]

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HILL: If you're looking for the secret to staying mentally sharp well into old age, you are in luck. A new study looked at people in their 80s and 90s who have the memory and attention of someone 20 even 30 years younger, and they found so called superagers actually have the ability to produce new brain cells at twice the rate of a cognitively healthy adult. So that number, by the way, is even higher if you compare it with people who have Alzheimer's disease.

So how do we all get to that point? Joining us now is Dr. Eric Topol. He's a professor and executive vice president of Scripps Research, also the author of "Superagers, An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity."

It's great to have you with us. So first, help us define, what exactly is a superager?

ERIC TOPOL, PROFESSOR AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF SCRIPPS RESEARCH: Well, good to be with you, Erica. A superager in this study was a person who had exquisite memory intact, as you said, in the 80s and 90s. In general, superagers are people that are just remarkable at the age of 85 plus, that have no neurocognitive impairment, no cardiovascular disease, no cancer.

So they're a very special, rarefied group of people.

HILL: So you mentioned not just the mental acuity, but you mentioned cardiovascular disease as well. How much of your brain is linked to overall physical health?

TOPOL: Yes, that's a big thing that we've learned in recent years. And this group, as a Northwestern group studied, where they zoomed into the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain, this is the mission control for health. The brain and the immune system are the two ways that people get to this remarkable status of superagers.

So that's why this study was so insightful because it really got to the bottom of what was going on in the brain. Among these people, they gave them this special resilience and this intact, exquisite memory. HILL: So I'm sure you know, my next question is, how do we all build that resilience? How do we make sure we have that exquisite intact memory?

TOPOL: Yes, that's really what we're on the hunt for. I think one of the things that we know is, we got to keep the immune system intact, because if you have inflammation in the brain, you're not going to be making these new brain cells. And so it is this interaction between the brain and the immune system that we've gotten a lot more respect for.

But we also know lifestyle has a big factor on brain health, and the ability to have this resilient signature, as they called it. And so lifestyle things like exercise, like good sleep health, like a non- inflammatory, anti-inflammatory diet, these are actually going to be important as it plays out, because they do have a role in keeping our immune system intact and keeping us away from inflammation, which could, of course, occur in the brain.

HILL: And so we can start all of that now, right, no matter what age we are. There's a lot of talk to and I'm sure you see it in a lot of confusion for people when it comes to all of these promises of longevity, things like supplements, is the best course of action, sleeping better, making sure you move your body every day, and simply trying to eat a little bit better.

TOPOL: Yes, those three things try to be really essential. I mean, there are other lifestyle factors like being socially engaged, not isolated, and, you know, being out in nature and having a purpose and all these other things. But all these things do help promote health span and freedom from things like neurodegenerative disease.

So you're absolutely right. You don't need to take supplements, peptides, stem cells, or, you know, anything else. These are the things that we actually know something about, have hard evidence.

HILL: Yes, talk to people, touch some grass as we hear. Doctor, it's great to have you with us. Thank you. All manageable things that we can do. Appreciate it.

TOPOL: And we'll build on that in the future. But that'll be the good start for everyone.

HILL: Yes. The foundation is where it begins. Dr. Eric Topol, thanks again.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

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