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FBI: Some Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Fake, Others Under Review; Extra NYPD Officers to be Deployed Around Madison Square Garden for Taylor Swift Wedding; Dangerous Heat Wave Threatens Millions Across East Coast; Trump's Wealth has Soared Since Retaking the White House; Two People Arrested After Scaling Empire State Building. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 02, 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]

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: FBI official saying that quote, all three kidnapping related messages tied to Nancy's disappearance have all been deemed fake or fraudulent. Apparently that Reuters report was not true because here's the FBI now on the record saying otherwise, we can put the full statement up on screen. There's a couple of key sentences here.

It says yes, some of the notes have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy, but other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated. Now this is significant because over the months, we've heard from TMZ and other outlets about various notes. And I know this has caused additional pain for the Guthrie family.

There have been repeated attempts, apparently extortion attempts that have targeted the Guthrie family in recent months. So on top of how they've already been victims here by having Nancy Guthrie disappear, there's been this attempt to extort the family to steal money from them. And the FBI is essentially confirming that for the first time with this statement.

So, you know, one of Savannah's confidant said to me the family has been contending with these ransom notes and these extortion attempts for quite some time and it's caused even more pain. But ultimately, as two sources close to the family said to me overnight, this is all about finding some resolution. Will there ever be an answer to the mystery about what happened to Nancy Guthrie that night?

And John, the indication from this FBI statement is that it's not as if investigators are on the edge or the precipice of getting an answer. They don't seem close to actually solving the mystery right now. And the FBI also pointed out this is in the hands of local law enforcement, with the FBI simply helping.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You just want some resolution for the family of some kind. Brian Stelter, OK, thank you for sharing the latest news of those, appreciate it.

A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So today, the party begins, or at least that is a speculation around the worst kept secret of the moment. The wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. A celebrity wedding is one thing, securing one in the middle of America's biggest city, that is another.

Plus, June's jobs report drops this hour, giving you a fresh look at where unemployment stands across the country right now and what it then means for the Fed's big upcoming decision on interest rates.

And from bad to worse, the entire eastern half of the country under a huge and dangerous heat dome set to peak as millions celebrate July 4th.

Sara is off today. I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: This morning, the wedding bells are ringing, almost. Today, some 100 guests said to be attending the rehearsal dinner for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. It's all happening inside one of the spaces in Madison Square Garden.

The ceremony is set for 5:30 p.m. tomorrow, with the reception plan to last at least until 2 a.m. for around 1,000 guests. Organizers building a tent where guests will arrive hidden from you. Extra police officers are going to be on hand to help make it happen.

Sources tell CNN the plan -- the security plant includes heavy weapons, teams that include long guns, canine units, emergency service units, romantic stuff.

With us now CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. So my questions about the wedding are, you know, who is presiding? What song for the first dance? Who's going to give the most embarrassing toast? Do you have any information on those questions first, Juliette?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I've got nothing good for you. I never get to do stories like this, so. But I'm going to focus on the security, but a bride, even if it's Taylor Swift, gets what she wants.

BERMAN: OK.

KAYYEM: So she's going to have her party in Madison Square Garden.

BERMAN: So given that we can't talk about what I think everyone actually wants to know about because we don't have the answers to that, let's talk about the security. You know, you and I were on TV at the same time yesterday when those crazy people were coming to the top of the Empire State Building, which is a block and a half away from Madison Square Garden. How do you secure an event like this that so many people are curious about, but you don't want any of them to actually see it.

KAYYEM: Yes, exactly. So you you've got two types of security. You've got the interior security, which I know it's crazy, but it's relatively easy. Madison Square Garden holds events all the time. They know how to secure it.

This is going to be more pressure because of the focus, but you know, once they sort of cut -- you'll put the tents up, make sure that people have anonymity who are coming in. It's a it's a confined area.

We in security, we like that better than saying open space. There is the second part, which is of course all the people who are going to be looking media, public, it's hot. These are urban streets. These are areas that are going to have to be cordoned off.

So you have sort of two different pieces in terms of management of it, you're going to have local, state, as well as private security. Taylor Swift has, as we know, she's, you know, there have been terror threats against her, has a very sophisticated, very large security.

Swift has, as we know, she's, you know, there have been terror threats against her, has a very sophisticated, very large security detail, which who will essentially be in charge. So none of it's very romantic, but it's well organized.

BERMAN: I mean, if you work for the New York City Police Department or official security here in New York City, like how psyched are you? And I say that almost facetiously, this is happening.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BERMAN: I mean, when you get that call saying, hey, Travis and Taylor want to get married at Madison Square Garden on the 3rd of July, what's your first reaction?

KAYYEM: Well, I should tell taxpayers this isn't for free. Whatever they're asking for in terms of supplemental security will be paid for by, you know, by the bride and groom, overtime, extra equipment, whatever is needed, because this is a private event. So this isn't like whatever Taylor Swift wants, she gets and I'd be curious, you know, over time what that bill is going to be.

So this isn't like, you know, a freebie. Taylor Swift is responsible in this regard. But you know, look, this is July 4th weekend, you've got the World Cup, the World Cup is not in New York City.

So that's fortunate. But you've got lots and lots of people around. Fortunately, this is a weekend.

And so we're, you know, there'll be less vehicular traffic. So I think the burden is, is going to be short lived. And they clearly, clearly have been planning this for a very long time, even though we all know now, there's no way they put this together.

This was likely months in the making.

BERMAN: Yes, this may be one of those events when their desire for secrecy and the need for security actually work hand in hand here. They maybe augment each other in this case. KAYYEM: Yes.

BERMAN: Juliette Kayyem, great to see you. I know you and I would both like to be at that wedding, but not this time. Appreciate it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, JB.

BERMAN: I got married on a Friday. Just, you know, getting married on a Friday is a good move.

BOLDUAN: I wait, did I? I got married on Sunday.

BERMAN: Oh!

BOLDUAN: I think.

BERMAN: We're both non traditionalists.

BOLDUAN: Just look at us, so non-traditional.

Let's talk about the weather. Three days of triple digit heat, 100 degree temps arriving today in some of America's biggest cities. And that heat is sticking around -- as we've been telling you, it is sticking around through July 4th.

More than 160 million people are under major or extreme heat risks right now. Some cities are going to feel their hottest temperatures in more than a decade.

Let's go over to CNN's Allison Chinchar. She's tracking all of this outside in it from Atlanta for us. What do people need to know?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: People need to know that it's going to be very, very hot and not just today, but over the next several days as well. It's actually not too bad outside right now. The humidity is very high, but the temperatures aren't quite what they're going to be.

But they are going to rise rapidly, not just here in Atlanta, but really all across the country. We have that heat dome kind of really set in place on the Eastern half of the country that is going to track all of that hot air down by the surface. And you're going to end up getting some pretty extreme temperatures out of it.

Again, not just for one area. You're talking the Southeast, the Mid- Atlantic, the Northeast, areas of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys all looking at those temperatures well above where they normally would be this time of year. It's why you have all of these heat alerts out for so many people because of how extreme those temperatures are going to get.

When you're looking at a lot of these areas, we're not just talking 5 or 10 degrees above average. We're talking record breaking in a lot of areas. Some spots, by the could end up breaking records two or even three days in a row. So this isn't just a one and done type of scenario. For a lot of these areas, those temperatures, the temperatures themselves, will get into the upper 90s, maybe even the triple digits. But then you factor in the humidity, and it's going to feel even warmer than that.

We've got a lot of races and events going on, on Saturday, for July 4th. Apologies for the noise. But here's the other thing that's going to keep an eye on all of those people running the races.

The people, the staff behind it, are going to keep a close eye on the safety. They're going to have tools like this. This is called a wet bulb globe thermometer.

It measures not only temperature, but it also takes into account humidity, sun angle, and wind. You can hear it beeping because it's actually telling us we've already met that minimum threshold for when we need to start taking extra safety concerns. I'll turn it off just so I can talk.

But to tell you, these are used by high school athletic teams, college athletic teams, to know when to add additional water breaks, when to take cut short practice for a lot of different events. These are the tools that are going to be used at a lot of the events that are taking place on July 4th because it takes into account more, like I said, than just the actual air temperature. Because while that will be at extreme levels, it's also the humidity.

It's also the fact that the sun is going to be shining above them. These are things that they're going to have to take into account as we go through the next -- excuse me -- the next few days.

[08:10:00]

The heat risk is expected to be extreme in so many areas across the country. We're talking one out of every two Americans is going to be looking at some area where you're talking about those heat alerts in effect. So this is going to be a pretty big deal, again, not just for I am in Atlanta, but for so much of the eastern half of the country.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Allison, thank you so much for that.

Still ahead for us, President Trump's Mar-a-Lago property making him more money than ever. What more is coming out and learning now this new financial disclosure? And why critics say this exposes how people are paying up big to just get close to the president himself. This morning, the White House is responding.

Plus, a brazen, dangerous climb ending in a proposal arrest and criminal charges. What is going to happen today when they face a judge?

And a police pursuit ends in a rollover wreck. What the driver was wanted for and how he is doing now.

[08:15:00]

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BERMAN: This morning, new numbers on the president's soaring wealth since returning to the White House. We knew he made some $2 billion last year alone, the bulk of it from crypto.

But now we know, according to his financial disclosure, that his revenue from Mar-a-Lago has also seen a record surge, $77 million and change in 2025. That's a jump of more than 50 percent over the previous year. That's fueled by those seeking access to the president and now a $1 million membership.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board is now accusing the president and his family of quote, "Profiting off the presidency in ways that demean the office." This is the Wall Street Journal, mind you. Quote, "Assuming all of this is legal, it's still an unseemly display of using the presidency for family profit. It's hard to believe the Trump boys would be able to do the same deals if dad wasn't in the Oval Office. The main difference between Hunter Biden's foreign dealings and the Trump projects is the Trumps are brazenly open about theirs."

Let's get to CNN's Alayna Treene live at the White House this morning for all this. You've been doing a lot of reading through this nearly thousand page financial disclosure.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've been pouring through it. And obviously, as you mentioned, John, some of the big takeaways were that more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency money that the president saw in that 2025 disclosure report. But I think what we're also looking at more specifically today and what's standing out to us is the surges you've seen in the revenue that has been generated from the president's two premier Florida resorts.

Of course, Mar-a-Lago is the one that many people know. The president likes to sit out there, dine on the patio with guests. As you mentioned, that brought in $77.5 million just in the last year, a more than 50 percent jump from the previous year and three times more than the amount that he saw in 2020. If you look at Doral, his national golf club in Miami, the president took in $122 million from that in 2025. That's up from 110 million the year before. Only 44 million Doral brought in for him in 2020.

Some of that cites the pandemic, of course, for that. But a big part of the growth in revenue, specifically when you look at Mar-a-Lago, is from the hike in membership fees. Those have been raised to $1 million.

That is a massive jump. I'd remind you, John, that before the president ran for re-election initially back in 2016, those membership fees were just a $100,000. So that's a big part of this as well.

And then, of course, I mean, look, we did the data. You look at the president's visits to both Mar-a-Lago and Doral. Since the beginning of his second term, he's taken more than two dozen trips to those clubs.

We know he likes to have, you know, a million dollar dinner plate fundraisers at his club. He has a lot of foreign dignitaries there. He hosts GOP galas.

A lot of politicians kind of clamor to have their events hosted there and tied to the president. When you speak with some ethics experts, we spoke with one of them, they argue that a lot of this and the hikes in revenue that Trump is seeing is because people want that proximity to the president. They want to be able to get in his ear and, you know, maybe try to influence him on a certain policy and just have that closeness.

I do, though, want to read for you this statement from the White House, a spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, really pushing back on this idea that Trump is profiting from his perch in the Oval Office. She said in a statement, quote, "Neither the president nor his family has ever engaged or will ever engage in conflicts of interest. All actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people."

But again, when you pour through this 927 page disclosure report, John, you really do see a lot of the ways that, you know, companies that are using Trump's name, a lot of revenue coming in from that, different gifts that Trump has been getting, the cryptocurrency investments really being the biggest. So much, really, to dig through in all of this, John.

BERMAN: Yes, and making a lot of money at the same time. Alayna Treene, thank you very much for sharing your reporting on this. Appreciate it.

All right, romantic or reckless, the couple that climbed to the tippy top of the antenna on the Empire State Building, they could be in court today facing charges.

And we are standing by for the release of a brand new jobs report. We're going to bring you that the minute we have it.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: So we're standing by to find out some more details and to see this couple faces a judge after scaling the Empire State Building, getting engaged at the top and then getting arrested. They are set to be arraigned this morning, according to WABC. And while the climbers may see their stunt as romantic, it is raising also serious questions about security of what should be one of the most secure buildings in the country.

I want to play for you how an NYPD helicopter pilot explained what was happening to a LaGuardia air traffic controller.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Yeah, what's all the hoopla going on over there?

PILOT: Two geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building, the top of the spire. It's a male, female, dressed in black.

[08:25:00]

They had some flag they were waving when they were up at the top. And he just proposed to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It's about as New York as it gets. CNN's Jason Carroll is following this one for us. Jason, what are you learning about what could happen in court today about those, quote unquote, geniuses?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, yes. Well, you know, Kate, we were out here yesterday on the ground watching it all unfold with hundreds of people looking upwards, looking skywards as it all unfolded here. This couple really facing some serious charges.

The couple has been identified as Ivan Kuznetsov and Angela Nikolau, both from Orange, New Jersey. They are facing several charges, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal tampering, as well as criminal trespass. The NYPD released some video just as they were taken into custody way up there at the top of the Empire State Building.

It was very calm at that moment. And at one point, Angela Nikolau said that she's doing fine, she's OK, and that not only does she speak English, she speaks Russian. This whole thing started to unfold around noon yesterday.

That's when the call initially came in that this couple wearing black, wearing these Catwoman and Batman-like masks were on top of the Empire State Building, on top of the antenna. And in the first moments, there were questions about their motive, but then it very quickly became clear what their intentions were. You could see them hugging, you could see them kissing, you could see him get down on one knee.

And of course, at one point, they unfurled that banner, which read, when the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace, a quote attributed to Jimi Hendrix. So clearly, this was some sort of high-flying engagement proposal. But again, very serious security questions being raised here, questions about how this couple, while there's all the security around the city at this time, you've got Taylor Swift happening at Madison Square Garden, you've got World Cup, you've got 4th of July celebrations happening over the weekend, how this couple was able to get access to a restricted door, to a restricted area, and make their way to the top. A lot of questions now for the Empire State Building officials -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, that is for sure. Jason, it's great to see you. Thank you so much.

So we are just minutes from the release of a new monthly jobs report. We're going to bring that to you as soon as it drops, and we have it.

And also, fire up the grill. July 4th weekend is basically upon us. And if you are grilling, we have a new look at what it is going to cost this time around. And spoiler alert, it is more than ever this year.

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