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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Ex-Prince Andrew Arrested After Epstein Files Revelations; Interview with Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA); Trump: Decision on Iran Could Come Over Next 10-15 Days; Trump: Decision On Iran Could Come Over Next 10-15 Days; Deadly CA Avalanche: 8 Dead, 1 Missing & 6 Survivors; Search For Nancy Guthrie Stretches Into Third Week; Source: Authorities To Prosecute Fake Extortions Of Guthrie Family; How DNA Evidence Can Implicate The Innocent; Country Music Superstar Eric Church On Grief & Loss. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired February 19, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...like Biblical Christians all the way down.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT AND HOST: So, do you teach the kids here this is a Christian nation, this was founded as a Christian nation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Pamela's investigation, "The Whole Story: The Rise of Christian Nationalism" will premiere this Sunday at 8:00 Eastern and Pacific on CNN.
And thank you so much for joining us. AC 360 starts right now.
[20:00:27]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, that sinking feeling. The former Prince Andrew, slouches home from police custody when his brother the King is saying about his arrest today barely three weeks after the latest Epstein document dump.
Also tonight, new reporting on the President's military options against Iran as he warns Tehran again about the consequences of not reaching a nuclear deal.
And later, what we're learning about who survived that deadly California avalanche and the effort to recover the nine who did not.
Good evening, thanks for joining us.
What happened today? The arrest of a senior member of the British Royal Family has not happened since 1647. The last time it did the Royal in question, King Charles I, lost his head. Whatever else awaits the former Prince Andrew, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, his head will stay attached. In this case, it's ducked down in the back of a car after leaving police custody this evening.
Andrew was arrested this morning, according to the Thames Valley Police, on suspicion of misconduct in public office and remains under investigation, they say. Police have previously said they were reviewing claims that Andrew shared sensitive information with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a U.K. trade envoy.
Now, it's not clear whether these charges are in connection to that. They do, however, come in the wake of the latest release of Epstein documents, which, in addition to several photos of the former Prince and scenes like this also contain an e-mail from 2010 on his official travels. That came out the 30th of last month.
Just ten days ago, Buckingham Palace said that Andrew's brother, Charles III was ready to support police in their inquiry. And in a statement today, the King said this, "I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office. What now follows is the full, fair and proper process," he said, "by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities."
"In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation." The King continued, "Let me state clearly the law must take its course as this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all. Charles R." The "R" stands for Rex, which is Latin for King.
The President also weighed in making sure to start and finish with himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Do you think people in this country, at some point associates of Jeffrey Epstein will wind up in handcuffs, too?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, you know, I'm the expert in a way because I've been totally exonerated. It's very nice. I can actually speak about it very nicely. I think it's a shame. I think it's very sad. I think it's so bad for the Royal Family. It's very, very sad.
To me, it is a very sad thing. When I see that, it's a very sad thing, to see it and to see what's going on with his brother, who's obviously coming to our country very soon and he's a fantastic man, the King.
So, I think it's a very sad thing.
It's really interesting because nobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive, but now they speak. But I'm the one that can talk about it because I've been totally exonerated. I did nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: He can talk about Epstein and the King and the Royal Family,
but not any of the survivors. The President has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, and his claim is impossible to either prove or disprove based on what we know. What we do know is how little appetite the Trump Justice Department seems to have for holding anyone accountable here.
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TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I can't talk about any investigations, but I will say the following, which is that in July, the Department of Justice said that we had reviewed the files, "Epstein files" and there was nothing in there that allowed us to prosecute anybody.
Now, there's a lot of correspondence, there's a lot of e-mails, there's a lot of photographs. Theres a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr. Epstein, or where people around him, but that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: In a moment, we'll talk about that with the member of the House Oversight Committee. But first, Britain and we should point out here that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has denied all accusations against him and inclusion in the Epstein files is not evidence of wrongdoing, but he has not commented publicly on these more recent allegations. With that, here's CNN's Max Foster.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor arrested, after new revelations in Epstein files in an extraordinary development without precedent in modern history. British police took the former Prince into custody on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Cameras capturing him leaving a U.K. police station late on Thursday released under investigation. Having said earlier this month that they were assessing claims that Andrew had shared sensitive information with the late Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the U.K.'s trade envoy.
They've not said exactly what led them to this arrest, which comes after the latest tranche of e-mails released by the U.S. Justice Department appeared to show that Andrew was sending confidential material to Epstein --
ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR, THEN BRITAIN'S TRADE ENVOY: Great pleasure. You know, our Ambassador --
FOSTER: -- sparking renewed scrutiny of the already disgraced Royal. He's previously denied any wrongdoing and hasn't commented publicly on these more recent misconduct allegations.
[20:05:46]
REPORTER: Your Majesty, how are you feeling after your brother's arrest?
FOSTER: King Charles didn't answer reporter's questions about his brother's arrest, but said in a statement that he learned with the deepest concern of the news and reiterated his wholehearted support and cooperation with the authorities.
MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR: I haven't done badly, have I?
FOSTER: Andrew became trade envoy in 2001. That position saw him travel the world carrying a duty of confidentiality. He stepped down a decade later after coming under fire over his association with Epstein. Questions over his friendship have haunted him ever since.
That's in part because of Epstein's conviction in 2008, when the financier pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving an underage minor and served time in jail and yet, the senior Royal stayed in contact with Epstein even after claiming, in a BBC interview to have cut ties with the convicted pedophile in late 2010 during a trip to New York.
MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR: No, I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.
FOSTER; E-mails released since then call that timeline into question, and Andrew's been dogged by a year's long crescendo of Epstein-related scandals and allegations. Late last year, the 66-year-old was stripped of all his royal titles and kicked out of his residence and essentially banished from the monarchy.
The same police force did arrested Andrew on Thursday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, is also looking into allegations that a woman was trafficked to the U.K. by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew. That investigation is ongoing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Max, now that Andrew has been released, what happens next?
FOSTER: Well, I think Andrew, one of the most interesting things about the developments today was that the police turned up without notice on the King's estate at Andrew's house so they could have invited him into a police station for questioning. They didn't, they arrived at his house. And my understanding is the King wasn't even made aware that this was about to happen.
That would allow them to start an immediate search of Andrew's homes. So, his current home on the Sandringham Estate also his former home in Windsor, potentially his next home on the Sandringham Estate as well.
They have released Andrew. They haven't charged him yet, but that is pending investigation. Pending what they find in these investigations and these searches.
They will be able to look into his e-mails. They will be able to act on whatever's in those e-mails. What does it tell them about his misconduct in public office? Will they find some other forms of misconduct as well? If they do, they'll be expected to act on that as well. So, this is a significant moment. We don't know what Andrew would have said in those interviews, of course, but this is classed as a white-collar crime. The advice from solicitors would normally be to say nothing.
So, but he could have capitulated and revealed a whole lot of stuff about his relationship with Epstein, which may shed more light on the Epstein web. We just don't know at this point.
But currently the King very focused on separating himself and the monarchy from Andrew, describing him as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, not his brother and that is because this is a real stress on the monarchy as well.
And you've got to understand that, you know, if they find something in these e-mails and they want to find more, that may lead them to Buckingham Palace and searching the service here as well.
So, this is a huge moment. And the significance here, if you consider the King oversees this whole prosecution as the head of the judiciary, this is a prosecution of crown versus a member of the Royal Family. If he's found guilty, he hasn't been charged yet, of course, he could serve a life sentence in one of his Majesty's prisons at his Majesty's pleasure. That's the parlance in the judiciary.
[20:10:05]
COOPER: Max Foster, thank you very much.
Joining me now is Julie K. Brown, award winning investigative reporter for "The Miami Herald" who's work was instrumental in exposing the extent of Jeffrey Epsteins crimes. And CNN Royal historian, Kate Williams.
So, Julie, did you believe an arrest of the former prince would follow the DOJ's release of the Epstein files over the past couple of months?
JULIE K. BROWN, "THE MIAMI HERALD" REPORTER: No, no I had no idea. I was shocked when I woke up and saw that this morning. Quite frankly, it seemed up until now anyway, that the palace was trying to protect him because, as you know, the prosecutors in New York had wanted to speak with him, and he had sort of rebuffed them. So, up until now, it just seemed like he was never going to be held accountable.
COOPER: And Kate, I mean, we mentioned a Senior British Royal hasn't been arrested in some 400 years. Can you just put into perspective how big a deal this is in the U.K.?
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, Anderson, I mean, this is seismic. This is news, I mean the whole U.K. is obsessed with this news. It's world news as well. This is seismic, I mean, it is the biggest catastrophe crisis to engulf the Royal Family. It's bigger than the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.
COOPER: Really? WILLIAMS: I would say, because there's no crime committed then. And the royal family, George VI came to the throne and everything went back to normal and bigger than the death of Diana, which was sad, sad moment. But this is a crime that is accused of being committed. A senior member of the Royal Family who is eighth in line to the throne, who is still eighth in line to the throne.
He is no longer a Prince. He stepped back from being Duke of York. But if something, God forbid, terrible was to happen, he could be the King and he once was second in line. This is absolutely unprecedented. We are going back as you say, Anderson, to the 17th Century to 1647, when Charles I was captured and executed.
And we might say those are different reasons, because that was war. Plenty of Tudors put each other in prison. Queen Elizabeth I put Mary Queen of Scots, in prison. But the point was that that was royals putting each other in prison this is not controlled by the Royals. This is controlled by the police. There are, we believe, eight different police forces across the U.K. different regional police forces investigating Andrew.
So really, I think even though the Royal Family want very much to draw a line under this to separate themselves from Andrew as they were doing very much as the King did very much in that statement that you read. Still, this is an ongoing operation, and it's the first chapter of really a big crisis for the Royal Family.
COOPER: Julie, we heard Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche signal earlier this month that there'll be no prosecutions related to the Epstein documents that were released. Do you think that door is as firmly closed as he makes it sound? And again, police are not saying if the arrest of ex-Prince Andrew is related to Epstein and the former Prince has previously denied all accusations of misconduct.
BROWN: Well, I think if anything this arrest of former Prince Andrew demonstrates that there probably is a lot of information there that that the DOJ needs to take a look at.
Wisely, the authorities in Britain, you know, looked at the crumbs, so to speak. And in other words, they looked at some of these other aspects instead of going after, you know, or looking into the sexual allegations against him, they thought, you know, they looked at it and thought there might be something else here, you know, what was he talking to Epstein about?
And we should be doing the same thing here because we don't know what kind of things that he was giving to other countries.
COOPER: And King Charles has certainly tried to publicly distance himself from Andrew. Is that also the situation privately?
WILLIAMS: Yes, that's publicly the situation. And it is, I believe also, the situation privately. The King is saying business as usual. He was out doing a London Fashion Week appointment today. He's saying business as usual, as he said in his statement, we are duty and service. He is separating himself from his brother who he grew up with. I mean, their wives, Diana and Fergie were best friends. This is very, very serious.
And frankly, we might say this is a long time coming because Julia's searing, important research, important journalism that brought to life the suffering of all these young girls now women.
I mean, that was a very long time ago. And we've known Andrew was friends with Epstein since that photo of him in Central Park in 2010. And yet still, it's taken such a long time to get to this position and our parliamentarians our M.P.'s are on holiday this week, it's a recess.
When they're back on Monday. I think that certainly some are going to be saying we should conquer put over that long established precedent that the parliamentarians don't talk about the Royal Family and actually debate them and that could bring, well, that could bring a lot of sunlight onto a lot of all kinds of secrets.
COOPER: Julie, the family of Virginia Giuffre calls for Prince Andrew's arrest a step in the right direction. What are you hearing from other survivors?
BROWN: I think, the same, I think that they feel that finally someone is believing them and recognizing them. I know he, you know, they recognize that he hasn't been charged with sexual assault, but his arrest still stems from his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and I think that they want American authorities to look at, you know, other threads of crimes that they could go after here.
I mean, there has been rumors and all kinds of indications through the banks that he was involved in money laundering. So, whose money was he laundering? So, these are the kinds of things that we should look.
[20:15:39]
COOPER: And we should point out, the police have not said in any way related to Jeffrey Epstein. They are -- you know, it seems, like you know, there's questions about him as a trade representative, but again, we don't know exactly what they're looking at.
Julie K. Brown, as always, thank you so much, Kate Williams as well.
Coming up next, a congressman who's been following this and the Epstein scandal from his position on the House Oversight Committee.
Also, what to make of the President's latest warnings to Iran, the military options he has at his disposal, and a former top national security staffer's take on the wisdom of it all.
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TRUMP: They must make a deal or if that doesn't happen, maybe I can understand if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen but bad things will happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[20:20:47]
COOPER: A giant banner of President Trump was hung outside the Justice Department headquarters today, a symbolic display of the White House's control over the Nation's top law enforcement branch that once pursued criminal prosecutions against him.
In the wake of the DOJ's release of the Epstein files, King Charles' brother, former Prince Andrew, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested today on suspicion of misconduct in public office. British officials are not specifying what led to his arrest, but police have said they're assessing whether he shared confidential government information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as a U.K. trade envoy.
And again, we should say that the former Prince has denied all accusations against him.
Joining us now is Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw, a member of the Oversight Committee which is investigating the Epstein scandal here in the U.S.
Congressman, you said today that the truth is coming to light and the shield of privilege is starting to crack. I want to reiterate, U.K. police have not said if the arrest of Andrew, who had been previously denied allegations of misconduct, is connected to Epstein. It does obviously come after the release of the Epstein files. Do you believe there's more accountability to come for associates of Epstein in the U.S.?
REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): There absolutely should be and I hope there will be. I mean, look, one of the things were seeing, a dichotomy between Europe and the United States where in Europe you see folks recognizing concepts like honor and virtue and shame for having done wrong and maintaining these relationships with Jeffrey Epstein, even after it was known that he was a predator who raped and abused girls and women.
In the United States, to date, at least in the Trump administration, those concepts are for suckers. I think, that's Donald Trump's view. So, no accountability yet for Howard Lutnick, who lied to the American people and to his boss, Donald Trump about the extent of his relationship with Epstein, for example.
So, I hope there will be accountability in the United States as well.
COOPER: Do you feel that King Charles has shown more sympathy for Epstein's victims and survivors than our President has?
WALKINSHAW: Absolutely, I mean, look, I think what typifies the Trump administration's approach has been a callous disregard for the victims and the survivors. And you can date that back to May of last year, May of 2025, when Pam Bondi walked into the Oval Office and told Trump that he's in the files. We now know he's in the files thousands of times and he's done everything in his power to prevent the world from learning the full truth about what's in the files. And we still don't know, it's important to note, we still don't know the full truth, because we don't have all the files and we still have illegal redactions in the files that have been produced.
COOPER: President Trump has never been accused of any misconduct related to his past connection to Epstein, and has said in the wake of the release of the files that he's been totally exonerated. His deputy attorney general as we mentioned, says it's likely there will be no prosecutions related to Epstein files. If that is the position of the administration, then what options remain for survivors? Their advocates in Congress and elsewhere?
Well, look we're going to continue pushing and certainly Democrats in Congress, along with some courageous Republicans, are going to continue pushing for full transparency and accountability. And I think one thing we've learned throughout this investigation is when you start pulling threads, more information and more truth comes out. And perhaps this arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is in that category. But I think there could be more of that to come.
COOPER: What remaining questions do you have for some, if not all, of the, you know, the people who stayed in Epstein's orbit even after he pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving underage girls? Has it ever been clear to you why they wanted to remain friends and associates of his?
WALKINSHAW: I think it's becoming clear that you had a lot of these folks who maintained this relationship with Epstein, even after they knew about his crimes perhaps some knew about his crimes while they were taking place. I think, from my perspective, President Trump could be in that category.
But I think for them, Jeffrey Epstein offered access to a lifestyle, a lifestyle of wealth and privilege, access to other wealthy and privileged individuals and they were willing to set aside the victims including the girls who were victims, because they wanted access to the kind of lifestyle that Jeffrey Epstein provided to them.
[20:25:20]
COOPER: Congressman Walkinshaw, I appreciate your time, thank you.
WALKINSHAW: Thank you.
COOPER: Still ahead, President Trump's warning that bad things will happen, his words, if Iran doesn't make a deal and his new deadline for Iran is the Middle East, sees the largest buildup of U.S. aircraft and naval assets in 22 years.
Plus, an update on Californias deadliest avalanche in recorded history. How heavy snow and dangerous conditions are impeding the search for anyone buried.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:29:53] COOPER: There's breaking news tonight as the U.S. is positioning warships and military assets in the Middle East, President Trump is extending his time frame on a decision to strike Iran, saying his decision could come in the next 10 to 15 days. But sources tell CNN the military could be ready to strike as soon as this weekend.
President Trump has this message today for Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region and they must make a deal or if that doesn't happen, I maybe can understand if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. But bad things will happen if it doesn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: In June, President Trump ordered a strike on three key nuclear sites in Iran. Then last month, thousands of Iranians, a complete number of course is not known, were killed in anti-government protests. And Mr. Trump encouraged the protesters to take over government institutions, writing, quote, "Help is on its way."
That help never came and nuclear talks with Iran continued this week in Geneva with no resolution. Democratic Congressman and U.S. Marine veteran Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts joins me now. Congressman, you said the president put a timeline of 10 to 15 days on negotiations with Iran. Do you put much stock in those timelines?
REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D), MASSACHUSETTS: No, I don't. I do put stock in the largest U.S. military buildup in the region since Operation Iraqi Freedom, though. I think there's three security realities that are defining this situation right now, Anderson.
The first is that Iran is in control on the ground, its interior, its police, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. They have taken back control from the protests, and it does not look like regime change is imminent organically. Number two, though, is Iran is not in control of the skies.
Because of the Israeli strikes last year, anything above 10,000 feet, Iran really has no domain awareness and no ability to impede, which means that the United States military absolutely can work its will through aerial strikes. And strategically, it would be sound to do so to impair any nuclear or ballistic missile development.
And then the final reality is that the Ayatollah himself is old and sick and isolated. He's going to die soon. So this would be the ideal time for Donald Trump to actually work some statesmanship, come to Congress, ask for a very tightly scoped authorization for the use of military force, because the aerial strikes would be illegal otherwise, but also ask for Congress to lay out what would allow Iran to rejoin the community of nations in the Middle East when the Ayatollah dies and a succession plan takes place.
That way, we can actually lay the groundwork for a succession after the Ayatollah's death, where moderates have a chance to campaign and win to take that mantle.
COOPER: Is it clear to you, though, what the objective of -- I mean, if it's a bombing missile, you know, multiple strikes over multiple days, whatever the action is, what the objective would be? Because, I mean, again, regime change is difficult to do from the air. And I understand the idea of, you know, targeting nuclear sites, targeting any air defenses that they've rebuilt. But that doesn't help those who are languishing in jails whose, you know, family members were killed during protests. It doesn't actually create regime change necessarily.
AUCHINCLOSS: No. And as I said, I don't think regime change is imminent from the protests, nor do I think these strikes, as you said, would accomplish any type of civil rights or internet freedom win. There are things the president could have and should have done, including surging direct-to-sell technology when he promised help months ago and failed to do.
What these military strikes would do would be really to continue to impair nuclear weapon development. There are signals that Iran is trying to restart at least one of those plants that was demolished. And probably more importantly, actually, would degrade their ballistic missile development.
Their ballistic missiles are a more imminent threat to Israel and to Arab states than even their nuclear weapon program, because those ballistic missiles, while most of them are shot down by Iron Dome and air defenses in the region, not all of them are, and they do significant damage.
COOPER: Congressman Jake Auchincloss, thanks for being on. I appreciate it.
I want to bring in our CNN Global Affairs Analyst, Brett McGurk, who's served in senior national security posts under the last four presidents, including President Trump. Brett, you and I talked a lot during the strikes against the nuclear facilities months ago. You know better than most how to read what may be happening. What do you expect to see?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I'd say two things at the top, Anderson. I think, first, there's really no urgency here. I think President Trump owns the clock. I think he can take some time, see where the diplomacy goes. At the same time, I'm very skeptical. The Iranians are showing no indication they're prepared to do a serious deal. So I think this is coming to a head.
[20:35:01]
And then it gets to exactly as you've been asking, Anderson, what is the objective? You know, Carl von Clausewitz, a 19th century military theorist, said any leader that orders military action must be clear in his mind exactly what he wants to achieve and how he intends to achieve it. And here, unlike every other military operation President Trump has ordered in his first term or second term, the objectives here are actually very unclear and potentially open-ended. COOPER: We talked a lot at the beginning of the year about what kind of threat widespread protests in Iran pose to the regime. Those protests, I mean, have, for the most part, been crushed by Iranian authorities brutally. Would a U.S.-Israeli attack give the political opposition or give just any opposition there a chance to go back into the streets or, you know, overthrow a regime? Again, it seems hard to do from air.
MCGURK: Well, I think if you're looking at a potential military operation, again, I'm not saying it's necessarily a good idea, but what would be the buckets of targets? Number one would be the nuclear. But to do the nuclear, you also have to take out the missiles. So those two, I think, are automatic.
And then there's a third, which gets to your question. Do you also strike the kind of repressive apparatus of the regime? That would be the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the besieged militias that conducted this massacre in January. This really kind of shocked the conscience of much of the world.
You could put those targets in the deck. I think we know where those targets are. But to your question, the hope might be that it would deter the regime when protests start again, and they will at some point, from conducting another crackdown, which could then open fissures in the system. Again, that's all very uncertain.
But I would say, Anderson, if we're looking at a military action, I would just anticipate the missiles first. You have to take out the missiles to degrade Iran's ability to respond to whatever you're going to do, then some nuclear targets. Again, we can talk about those, what might be left.
And then the question is, do you also hit those repressive apparatuses of the regime? Given President Trump's statements, which you just put on air moments ago during the protests, that help is on its way, I think it would be very hard for him not to follow through on that.
And given the scope of the massacre, you know, even the Europeans, Anderson, since the massacre, all 27 states of the European Union has designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the IRGC, as a terrorist group. I actually never thought I would see that happen. So a lot has happened here.
But again, I think the president has kind of backed himself into a corner here. He's hoping, I think, diplomacy succeeds. But I don't think Khamenei, the other decision-maker here, the supreme leader of Iran, is going to give him that off-ramp based upon what he's been saying. So I still think this has a couple of weeks to play out, Anderson, but it seems to be coming to a head.
COOPER: All right. Brett McGurk, as always, thank you.
Ahead tonight, what a new team of federal prosecutors is up to in the search for Nancy Guthrie. And next, a live report from California on the effort to recover nine backcountry skiers killed in Tuesday's avalanche, just one of a string of snow slides around the world in just the last few weeks, including this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to be OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:42:59]
COOPER: One of several avalanches in the Swiss and French Alps recently, even at a distance, the sight is terrifying. And here's the view up close Tuesday near Zermatt, Switzerland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to be OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: A video taken by people on a train. Others not been so lucky to be sheltered. More than two dozen killed in France alone since the season began.
Back home in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, eight died in an avalanche on Tuesday. We learned some of their stories today. Efforts to recover their bodies have so far been complicated by more heavy snowfall and the possibility of new avalanches.
CNN's Stephanie Elam has more.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, it's devastating news, and just in to us is a statement representing six of the women that were killed on the mountain. They're saying that they are heartbroken over this tragedy and the fact that these women were wives, they were mothers, and they were friends who bonded over their love of being outdoors.
I want to read a part of the statement here from these families right now. It says, in part, "We have many unanswered questions, but here is what we know at this time. Eight close friends planned a professionally guided two-night backcountry hut trip to Frog Lake Huts outside Truckee, California. The trip has been organized well in advance. They were experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains. They were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and trusted their professional guides on this trip. They were fully equipped with safety equipment."
They also said that, you know, they're trying to care for their children at this difficult time. The families are rallying around each other. And we also now have six of their names, and I'll read them to you. It's Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar, and Kate Vitt.
[20:45:04]
Those are six of the victims that we have now learned the names of. Just to give you a little bit of background here, we know that 15 people went on this trip. Six were made it out alive, were rescued from the mountain, and we know that three guides and six clients were killed.
So this is giving us more of a picture here. One person is still missing, but presumed to be lost in the avalanche as well, Anderson.
COOPER: And Stephanie, do authorities -- I mean, do we know when they expect to be able to recover the skiers' bodies from the mountains because, obviously, I know conditions have been worsening in some places?
ELAM: Yes, the Sierra Nevada mountain range is rugged. The part where they are is very remote, and in fact, they said it was very vertically challenging where they were. In fact, the other issue is worrying about triggering another avalanche while going in there to try to get them.
The snow has been dropping more and more today. They got another foot today. It's supposed to ease up tonight. So they've actually shut down the Tahoe National Forest until March 15th because of what they think is going to be a prolonged effort to recover these bodies. And I think that's going to go into this weekend as the storm starts to wrap up tonight, Anderson.
COOPER: Yes. Awful. Stephanie Elam, thanks so much. I appreciate it.
It's been 19 days since the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. Today, we learned that a team of federal prosecutors is now on standby to charge anyone sending fake tips or random ransom notes to authorities or news outlets.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now from outside the Guthrie home. What are authorities most focused on tonight?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been a rather disheartening day in terms of the lack of leads and a real clear picture as to where this investigation is headed. We do know that investigators have been following analysis of the DNA found here at the property of Nancy Guthrie. We know that they've been reaching out to gun stores. They've been trying to track down with the help of corporate help, like Walmart, where the backpack was purchased and who might have purchased all that, trying to find where all of those items were purchased and see if that traces back to anybody.
But these are all really slow, tedious investigative processes that take a great deal of time, and investigators have been telling us they feel that the fastest way to break this case is going to be a tip from someone who recognizes this suspect in that footage. But it has been kind of just a lack of news on this front, Anderson.
It's just -- we haven't heard from the FBI in several days. Pima County sheriffs put out a very brief statement saying that the act -- the investigation is active, that they continue to follow all the leads as long as they keep coming in. And we haven't heard from Savannah Guthrie in several days as well. So it's just a -- it seems like a very quiet time, which I imagine is incredibly disheartening for the Guthrie family.
COOPER: Yes, of course. Is there any sense of how seriously investigators are taking the latest purported ransom notes sent to TMZ?
LAVANDERA: Well, we haven't really gotten any indication yet as to whether or not investigators are dismissing these or they continue to take them seriously. At least publicly, they seem to be taking it seriously. But they're also putting, as you reported there off the top, very pushing back.
They've already charged one person for sending a fake note, and they're kind of putting out this message that anyone who's taking advantage of this moment will be prosecuted. So -- but as far as we know, the Guthrie's have taken them seriously and investigators have as well.
COOPER: Yes. Ed Lavandera, thanks very much.
Lab analysis continues, as I said, on what the sheriff's office is calling biological evidence found at Nancy Guthrie's home, which could be things like hair and blood, but they've not shared any details. It's too early, of course, to know whether DNA testing will lead to a breakthrough in this case.
DNA has helped solve a huge range of cases. There also have been serious problems with DNA sometimes found at crime scenes leading to charges against the innocent, especially when it's accidentally transferred from one person to another.
Randi Kaye tonight has a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): November 2012, millionaire Ravi Kumra, a Silicon Valley investor, is attacked in his California home. He's tied up and gagged with duct tape. Paramedics called to the home by his ex-wife declare Kumra dead from suffocation. Weeks later, police arrest then 26-year-old Lucas Anderson and charge him with capital murder. His DNA was found under the victim's fingernails.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have any definitive answers as to what may have caused the transmission of DNA going from one person to another.
KAYE (voice-over): Anderson claimed he didn't do it. He insisted he wasn't at the victim's home, but instead was at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Medical records backed him up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we know here is something went wrong.
KAYE (voice-over): So then how did a homeless man's DNA end up at a crime scene he never visited? Turns out the paramedics who transferred Anderson to the hospital were the same paramedics who responded to Kumra's house after the break-in. Somehow those paramedics transferred Anderson's DNA to the murder victim, perhaps by slipping the same pulse oximeter on the fingers of both men.
[20:50:05]
KAYE: DNA is so transferable that some experts say it can produce what they call false positives, falsely linking someone to a crime scene. So let's just say I try this hat on in a store and then I put it back on the shelf. If a bad guy comes in, buys this hat, takes it to a crime scene, experts say my DNA could then be transferred to that crime scene, even though I was never there.
NATHAN LENTS, PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: I might shake your hand and then you go touch a doorknob and then my DNA ends up on that doorknob. So these are all possible explanations for the evidence.
KAYE (voice-over): In 2007, an international saga in an Italian courtroom, American Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were charged with the murder of Knox's British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy. Knox's DNA and the victim's DNA were found on a knife that came from Sollecito's apartment. Trouble is, Kercher had never been to that apartment.
So had Knox somehow transferred Kercher's DNA unknowingly?
EDDA MELLAS, AMANDA KNOX'S MOTHER: We told her she's going to get out of here. It's going to take a little longer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's innocent. She's innocent.
MELLAS: Be strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She will come home.
KAYE (voice-over): Prosecutors argued the only way the victim's DNA got on the knife was through murder. Even though the knife didn't match the entry wounds, in 2009, an Italian jury convicted Knox.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
KAYE (voice-over): In 2015, Knox and Sollecito were acquitted based in part on a better understanding of how DNA can be transferred through contact.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up, a conversation with country music superstar Eric Church about the role grief and loss has played in his life and career. Part of a new episode of my podcast, All There Is, that's just about to be released tonight, in a few minutes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC CHURCH, COUNTRY MUSIC SUPERSTAR: I've always treated grief with get as much space as you can between myself and the grief.
COOPER: Well --
CHURCH: -- to do whatever you can.
COOPER: Me too.
CHURCH: Right, right. So that's -- I've always -- because everybody talks about, you know, time heals, and that's true. But the grief process is what allows time to heal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:56:57]
COOPER: Country music superstar Eric Church is no stranger to success. He's selling out arenas on his Free the Machine tour. He has 11 Grammy nominations, a lot of hits, but he also knows loss.
Within the space of a year, Eric had a life-threatening blood clot. He opened up a music festival in Las Vegas that became the scene of America's deadliest mass shooting two days later. And months later, his brother Brandon died.
I spoke to him for the newest episode of my podcast about grief called All There Is. It's just now, as I speak, available wherever you get your podcast. Here's some of that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: I've always treated grief with get as much space as you can between myself and the grief.
COOPER: Well -- CHURCH: -- to do whatever you can.
COOPER: Me too.
CHURCH: Right, right. So that's -- I've always -- because everybody talks about, you know, time heals and that's true. But the grief process is what allows time to heal. I'm 48 now. So I find the last three or four years of my life, all that stuff that you bury, which I do great at, kind of rub some dirt on it and keep rocking, comes back.
So, yes, and I had a period of time where a number of things happened to me that were traumatic or grief stuff. And at that time in my career, I just kept going, another show, another whatever.
I played a show after my brother died. We buried him and I played a show four days later because I had a show and I knew he wouldn't want me to play the show. And it's not what I would recommend to anybody.
COOPER: I'm 58 and I just woke up to realizing I've never grieved and --
CHURCH: Yes.
COOPER: -- that's what I'm doing this because I'm trying to figure out --
CHURCH: Right.
COOPER: -- what it means --
CHURCH: Yes.
COOPER: -- and learn how to do it because I don't know.
CHURCH: You literally went to war zones to get, I mean --
COOPER: Yes. And you talk about putting some dirt on it. I mean, I was putting layers and layers of dirt --
CHURCH: Yes.
COOPER: -- and thousands of miles between me and it. But you're right, it gets buried, but it doesn't go away. And I could jump on a plane, abandon friendships, whatever. Work is the thing that I latched onto like a rocket --
CHURCH: Yes.
COOPER: -- and it saved me until it doesn't.
CHURCH: I was going to say that -- there's the thing.
COOPER: Yes.
CHURCH: I would say the same thing for me.
COOPER: Yes.
CHURCH: To me, it was always space. It's just get as much space as I can. Two weeks, one month, six weeks. You know, it's not healthy, but it's the way I've always dealt with it.
COOPER: Do you find that different now?
CHURCH: Yes. Some of it is family and kids too. You just -- you get older in life. I've got two boys. You understand that we all have trauma. Life is going to have trauma.
And I was never very well prepared, in my opinion, to deal with that. I had another person tell me, very wise, he'd lost a lot of people. And he said that death happened that one time, but the life happened all the time up until that.
And I think sometimes we get caught up in what happened, how it happened, when it happened, but we forget about all the stuff that happened up until that moment. So that's been something that I've learned, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It's a really great conversation with Eric Church, and I'm grateful for it. The full podcast is out tonight. You can watch or listen to the full conversation right now with Eric Church, wherever you get your podcasts, or on YouTube. You can also watch the entire episode on my grief community site at CNN.com/AllThereIs.
Also one other programming note before we go, it's about this weekend's edition of my other show, The Whole Story. Pamela Brown explores the rise of Christian nationalism and its growing political influence. You can see it Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern Pacific Time, and Monday also on the CNN app.
That's it for us. The news continues. I'll see you tomorrow. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.
