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Sheriff Says Savannah Guthrie's Mother Was Abducted from Her Home; House GOP Scrambles for Votes to End Partial Shutdown; Russia Resumes Night Strikes on Kyiv After Brief Reprieve. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired February 03, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the search for Nancy Guthrie. Urgent efforts are underway to find the mother of NBC Anchor Savannah Guthrie after investigators say she was abducted from her home.

Plus, overhauling elections, President Trump is calling for Republicans to nationalize voting ahead of November's midterms.

And fighting human trafficking, the harrowing stories of two child exploitation survivors and a warning from experts about the rise in children being exploited online.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Also happening now, ending the shutdown. House Republicans hope to keep the party united enough to end the partial government shutdown. But key holdouts could stand in the way.

Plus, Clinton's deposition, why Bill and Hillary Clinton are now agreeing to appear before a Congressional committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein after months of legal wrangling.

And new airstrikes in Ukraine, Russia once again striking major Ukrainian cities at night, cutting heat and power for tens of thousands of people as winter temperatures plummet.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

Happening now, a criminal investigation is underway in Arizona. Law enforcement officials say they have possible DNA evidence from the crime scene where officials say, Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC Today Show Anchor Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her home in Arizona against her will on Saturday night.

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SHERIFF CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA: We took some samples that we hope will have enough profile of a DNA, profile that gives us some identification as to what we're looking at.

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BLITZER: Police say the 84-year-old was last seen at her home near Tucson on Saturday. Officials say when they arrived on the scene Sunday afternoon, they found things there that were, quote, very concerning this morning.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that authorities found blood inside Guthrie's home. The report did not detail whose blood or where in the house it was found. The Times is citing law enforcement sources who were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

Overnight, Savannah Guthrie, who traveled to Tucson after learning her mother was missing, took to social media to express her appreciation for the support, and asked for prayers, saying, in part, I'm quoting her, thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Bring her home, end quote.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Senior National Correspondent Ed Lavandera. He is on the scene for us in Tucson, Arizona. Ed, what are you learning this morning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Wolf. Well, you can sense from that social media post that Savannah Guthrie put out, the anguish that the family is enduring now as this search for their mother, 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, is entering its third day. And there is still not a lot of clear information as to what exactly unfolded in this house.

But, clearly, investigators believe that this is a crime scene, that Nancy Guthrie was abducted against her will and taken from her home. And they are continuing to urge the public, especially for people who live in that neighborhood around her, which is on the northern side of Tucson, in the foothills, in the mountains there, to go through their home, video cameras, anything, any kind of pictures that were taken that might be able to shed some light as to what unfolded here.

So, once again, investigators here in Tucson putting out that plea to the public for people to look through any kind of digital evidence that they might have, and to share that with investigators. They're hoping that some clues can emerge from all of that.

But there's very clear and unclear details as to what exactly unfolded in that house. We do know that Nancy Guthrie was dropped off at her home Saturday night, and it wasn't until the next morning when a family member or church members realized that Nancy Guthrie had not shown up for church services.

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And then that began the frantic search. And that is what investigators are still doing and carrying out here. Although it is not exactly clear exactly if they have any clear leads, any kind of clear evidence that sheds light, but clearly enough that they've seen inside that home, Wolf, that makes them believe that this is a crime scene. And they continue to say that this is a race against the clock to find her. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, let's hope they do. Ed Lavandera, thank you very, very much. This important note, anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Pima County Sheriff's Department at (520) 351-4900. Very important that you do so. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. I feel so deeply for Savannah and her family as the search continues.

Well, happening now, House Republicans are shoring up support for a funding package that would end the partial government shutdown that we're in right now. A vote is expected today on the fourth day of the shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose only one Republican vote. The Senate has already passed a bipartisan funding package, so House passage would send it to the president who is eager to sign.

As of now, the measure extends funding for the Department of Homeland Security for only ten days. That's a concession to Democrats who are demanding reforms to immigration enforcement.

So let's go live now to CNN's Arlette Saenz on Capitol Hill. What more do we know about this vote, Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the first procedural vote to end this partial government shutdown is expected to take place in the coming hour, but there are major questions whether House Speaker Mike Johnson will be able to corral his caucus to get on board to advance that measure. This really marks a key test for Johnson, who is operating with very little room for error. He can only afford to lose one Republican vote.

This morning, Speaker Johnson told reporters he is confident that they will pass this funding measure a bit later today, but there's still major questions about whether in fact that can happen. There have been some conservative hardliners who have said that they were considering withholding support for this measure unless a voter I.D. legislation was attached to it.

Now, some of those conservatives, like Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna and Tim Burchett, they've signaled that they might be moving in favor of advancing this measure after some conversations with the White House. But this will be another test for House Speaker Mike Johnson going forward. There is that procedural vote expected to happen in the 11:00 A.M. hour. And then if they clear that, a final vote on passage could happen as early as this afternoon.

This would reopen a large swath of the federal government, including the Departments of Defense and Labor, but it only includes funding for DHS for about ten days. That would kick off another battle. That was an agreement that was reached between the White House and Senate Democrats, and Senate Democrats have said that they want to see major reforms to how ICE is deployed across the country. And that will be a very contentious negotiation.

This morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he said that those talks will be intense, that he believes the two sides are very far apart. And here's what he had to say when he was asked whether they might have to pass another short-term measure to fund DHS after that ten days expires, if there's no agreement.

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I hope that we can get together and work it out. I'm always an optimist, as you know, but these are -- there are real challenges here. So, we'll see.

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SAENZ: So, that is a looming battle if Republicans and Democrats are able to reopen the government a bit later today. But, certainly, this is a major test for President Trump, a major test for House Speaker Mike Johnson, as they are trying to ensure that Republicans can all get on board to end this partial government shutdown.

BROWN: All right. Arlette Saenz live for us from Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: We'll see what happens in the next hour or so, very important indeed.

BROWN: We're tracking it.

BLITZER: And still ahead, President Trump is calling for his party to make a major change to national elections, one that could violate the U.S. Constitution.

BROWN: And a short-lived reprieve for Ukraine is now over as Russia once again steps up attacks on Ukraine's biggest cities, leaving thousands in the dark.

You're in The Situation Room. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: New this morning, look at this.

Those were explosions heard overnight in Kyiv. Russia resuming night attacks on Ukraine. It ends a very brief pause and strikes agreed to between Russian president of Vladimir Putin and President Trump, Russia launched the strikes as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrives in Ukraine for a visit.

BROWN: Joining us now to discuss is Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado. He serves on the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees. Congressman, thanks for your time.

I want to first just get your reaction to this major new Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine, shattering that brief pause Russia agreed to last week. REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Well, Vladimir Putin still thinks he's winning. He thinks he can outlast the west outlast the United States, and, of course, Donald Trump has. Given him every indication that that would be true, right? Donald Trump continues to show weakness. He continues to turn his back on our friends and allies, our NATO partners, folks who served and fought with generations of Americans, including me and Iraq and Afghanistan.

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And it's making us less safe. It's making Americans less safe and it's making America smaller and weaker. So, I'm standing up, I'm trying to say we should and can do better, and we need to stand by Ukraine and all of the freedom loving people of the world.

BROWN: These Russian attacks cut off heat to tens of thousands of people in Ukraine. Of course, it is winter and it's cold. President Zelenskyy said that taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than turning to diplomacy. Is he right from your perspective?

CROW: Yes, that's right. But Vladimir Putin has no indication that he needs to change, no indication that he needs to come to the negotiating table. Again, he thinks he's winning. Terror is always the point with autocrats and dictators and strongmen like Vladimir Putin and others targeting civilians, targeting families, that is what he has always done, that is what he always will do, which is why America should be sending a message, why I am sending a message that it's wrong, that it needs to stop, that freedom and democracy everywhere in the world at home and abroad matters.

BROWN: I want to turn to President Trump's comments on elections here at home. There was this interview with his former FBI deputy director, Dan Bongino, that the president had, where he said he wants to nationalize elections and 15 states to take over the voting. Now, we should note the Constitution requires states to run elections. But what is your take on why the president wants to do that?

CROW: Well, Pamela, I've learned to pay attention to what Donald Trump says because he throws a lot of things out there. But what he's actually trying to do is he's floating trial balloons of things that he would like to do. He wants to desensitize Americans to it. He wants to gauge people's reaction. You know, he'll float these trial balloons about, you know, stopping elections or changing elections, or taking control of elections, or sending troops to polling stations, all these things that he's actually thinking about doing and wants to gauge people's reaction.

So, what's important for me and others to do is to call it out, say it's unacceptable, it's un-American. We will not tolerate Donald Trump or anybody else interfering or trying to change our election system so he can control it. And I'm not going to allow it to be normalized either.

BROWN: And this, of course, comes against the backdrop of the fact that President Trump is also calling for several states, including Colorado, to turn over their voter rolls to the Justice Department. And then you have that FBI search, right, of the Fulton County, Georgia elections office. Do you have any concerns that these steps could undermine public confidence and future elections results like the midterms?

CROW: Well, Donald Trump is already trying to interfere and suppress the vote. There's no doubt about it. And he has weaponized and continues to weaponize various facets of the government against his political opponents, against anyone who would dissent. Let's not forget that he accused me of treason and threatened to have me arrested and executed because I simply reminded, along with Mark Kelly, our service members to follow the law and the Constitution.

He is a dangerous man. He's becoming more dangerous as time goes on, more erratic and unpredictable and unstable as time goes on, and we have to be very vigilant. Because as this year goes on, what is one of the most consequential, important elections in American history, we have to be very vigilant to what he might try to do to interfere with the vote.

But Americans are speaking up, right? Look everywhere, Minneapolis, Colorado, people are stepping up. The tide is turning. People are retaking our democracy. And that is encouraging to see.

BROWN: All right. Let me just follow up with you, because you pointed out that the video that you were in that drew President Trump's ire, and then our reporting had been that the FBI was investigating. Have you done any interviews with the FBI on this? I know that they had been reaching out to lawmakers involved with that video.

CROW: No. No. What this is is an attempt to try to threaten, harass, and intimidate political opponents. And I'm treating it as such, right? And it's actually not even about me. The point isn't about me because it's meritless, baseless accusations. The point is he's trying to make an example out of me and Mark Kelly and others, because if he can make an example out of a member of Congress or a senator, then why would, you know, everyday Americans stand up and protest and dissent?

But he has chosen the wrong people. We will not be bullied. We will not be cowed, and we will not back down. We're going to hold our ground. We're going to treat this harassment and intimidation for what it is, and we're going to continue to stand up, speak up in dissent against what is a lawless, rogue presidency.

BROWN: Congressman Jason Crow, thank you for coming on to offer your perspective. We appreciate it, Wolf?

CROW: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, famed Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn says she's in the Winter Olympics, even after a brutal fall and injury just days before the games.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: There's breaking news. U.S. skiing superstar Lindsay Vonn says she will, repeat, she will compete at the Winter Olympic Games, that despite this horrific crash on Friday, leaving her with a, quote, completely ruptured ACL injury. The Olympics kickoff in just a few days on Friday.

Joining us now is CNN Sports Columnist -- the sports columnist at USA Today, CNN Sports Analyst Christine Brennan, who's joining us from Milan, Italy, covering the Olympic Games.

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Christine, Vonn has already sacrificed so much to get back to this competition level. That had to have played a role, I assume, in her decision to stay in the games.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Absolutely, Wolf. And, you know, it really didn't surprise me to hear that she was making this decision. I think this is the most Lindsey Vonn thing that Lindsey Vonn could ever do. And by that, I mean this is the woman who just hurdles down the mountain, has been doing it her whole life, breakneck speed, going for it, just, you know, courage, just nonstop, wanting more, more, the adrenaline rush of all of that.

So, yes, while it is a stunning sentence to say she ruptured her ACL and she is going to try to get to the top of the mountain for the women's downhill on Sunday, that's a sentence I thought I would never say, but with Lindsey Vonn, it's no surprise at all that she's going to give it a shot.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Christine, Vonn's training runs are set to begin on Thursday, this week, Thursday. Do you think we could see a change in her decision then?

BRENNAN: Certainly, Wolf, something were to happen that isn't good, in other words, if she were to have another fall or something wouldn't quite go right, anything that would be untoward, then, yes, I think so. But my guess is she's also going to play it safe so that she can get to the top of the mountain, get to the starting gates and give it that one last shot. I mean, she's 41 years old, as you know, and she has done gone through everything.

So, her knowledge, her, you know, understanding of where she is, she can -- I'm sure she will -- she's the best person on Earth to be able to handle that and figure out how to do it. But, sure, I think anything's possible over the next four or five days.

BLITZER: And we wish her only the very, very best.

Christine Brennan on the scene for us in Milan, we'll stay in very close touch with you. Thank you very, very much.

BRENNAN: Thank you, Wolf.

BROWN: All right. New this morning, Wolf, after months of pushback, Bill and Hillary Clinton are reversing course and are now agreeing to testify in a house investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The former president and former secretary of state have agreed to in-person depositions over their relationship with Epstein. They're hoping to avoid a full House vote to hold them in contempt for refusing to testify initially for months.

Let's go live now to CNN Senior Reporter Annie Grayer. So, what happens now, Annie?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Pamela, House Oversight Chair James Comer has given the Clintons until noon today to see if they will actually agree to his terms for a deposition, and if not, he says, the House will still move forward withholding the Clintons in contempt of Congress. So, it's unclear if a formal deal has been reached.

Now, the terms that Comer has explicitly laid out to the Clintons are the Clintons have to appear for in-person depositions, that it will be videotaped, that it will be transcribed and that it will occur in February. So, we have until noon today to see if the Clintons will actually agree to this.

Take a listen to how House Speaker Mike Johnson sees all of this.

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JOHHNSON: That's the deadline we put on them. The devil's in the details when you comply with a subpoena, and Chairman Comer's exactly right, the Rules Committee can reconvene at any time this week to move forward with contempt. And so I hope they get their ducks in a row by noon.

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GRAYER: Now, the two sides have been going back and forth for months here. The Clintons have argued that they have been unfairly singled out because others who were subpoenaed as part of this investigation didn't have to appear for in-person depositions. They only had to submit a written statement. And the Clintons have also argued that they don't have anything more to add to this investigation, so they did not show up for their in-person depositions.

And this has put a major divide among Democrats, where some have said, look, the Clintons did not show up for their in-person depositions, so we need to protect the power of a Congressional subpoena and hold them in contempt of Congress. But other Democrats have argued that the Clintons are being unfairly singled out, that Comer's playing politics here, and that if he's going to hold the Clinton's in contempt, he should also look at Attorney General Pam Bondi, for example, who's refused to release all of the Jeffrey Epstein file.

So, we are going to wait to see what happens at noon, but this is all unfolding very quickly. Clearly, the Clintons have made multiple offers in the last couple weeks, even because they've been trying to avoid a contempt of Congress vote, they have made offers for voluntary interviews in New York, but they were trying to set the time, the scope, who was actually allowed to participate in those interviews. Comer rejected all of that. This is their final offer yesterday to actually appear for depositions. But we are still waiting to see if the two sides have actually come to an agreement.

BROWN: All right, the clock is sticking on that. Annie Grayer, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: Up next, the Chicago woman shot by a Border Patrol agent last year is up on Capitol Hill today to testify about the encounter.

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We're going to talk to a lawyer for Marimar Martinez, as they fight to release new video.