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New York Post: Black Glove Found Near Nancy Guthrie's Home; Trump To Netanyahu: Iran Nuclear Talks Must Continue; Instagram CEO Testifies In Landmark Social Media Trial. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 12, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, the New York Post reporting that investigators found a black glove less than two miles from Nancy Guthrie's home.

With us now retired FBI special agent Richard Kolko, and former FBI special agent Ken Gray.

And Richard, let me just start with you about these dates because it's interesting, right? They want neighbors to check footage on January 31. That makes some sense just intuitively because she went missing that night between the 31st and the first. But they also want neighbors to check their security cameras on a specific time on January 11. That's three weeks before she went missing.

So what does that tell you?

RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well John, that tells me that's a timeline investigation. That's what every investigator likes to work with. They're going to take the last moment in time they know, which is when Nancy was taken from the home.

And obviously they're moving forward. What happened after that? Vehicles, people, anything that occurred. But they have to go backwards on that timeline as well. That's where the phone analysis comes in, witness interviews, any video that they may have picked up. So they're going to build a timeline backwards as well.

There's no way that the person who -- person or persons who are involved in this -- that this was the very first time they saw that house. So the FBI and Pima County knows they've got to go backwards, as you said, and find people that may have information on any cars that may have scouted that out. It may have been a day before, a week before, six months before.

BERMAN: Um-hum.

KOLKO: But they're going to put that together -- a timeline -- as far back as they can to as far forward as they can until they resolve this case.

BERMAN: All right. So, Ken, say they get a match between the 31st and the 11th on a vehicle maybe or something suspicious in that neighborhood. How then do they use it to find this guy?

KEN GRAY, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT, CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: So when you are -- have a lead like a potential suspicious vehicle you'd be able to then go to DMV and potentially get a pool of possible matches to that vehicle and that would give you a pool of people to take a look at. Why you would not do an investigation on each and every person you would use that to cross reference other pieces of data you have.

But again, what you're trying to do is set up a universe of people that are possible persons of interest and then start narrowing it down.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk a little bit about the New York Post reporting on the glove found about a mile and a half from the home. This is from the New York Post. This is the picture of the glove found. This is a picture, I'll remind people, of the gloves worn by the individual in the doorbell camera the night Nancy Guthrie was taken. And right by here you can see the gloves side-by-side.

So Richard, it's hard to tell in these photos if it's exactly the same thing. But what is the likelihood of evidence like this -- the glove they just found -- being something that this perpetrator left and then finding it, you know, 10 days, 11 days after the kidnapping?

KOLKO: Well, these are time-intensive searches being done by law enforcement on the roads around Nancy's house. It is a critical piece of evidence if, indeed, it is tied to the crime. And it may be possible that the people involved may have gotten rid of the rest of the stuff that they had. Maybe looking for that ski mask. Maybe looking for the other gloves. Anything else that they had or carried.

But this is all part of it, and you can't get totally fixated on one specific lead. This investigation is going on as wide as possible. As you brought up before, thousands of leads have been called in. So they don't want to go down that rabbit hole of only one thing, which is that glove found on the road.

There are many other things that are being done by investigators -- building those timelines, looking for those videos, doing those witness interviews. Checking all the Arizona Department of Transportation cameras. There is so much going on behind the scenes that we don't have the opportunity to see.

BERMAN: So Ken, if this is the glove, right -- if they did hit pay dirt on this, what's on this glove? What could this glove tell them?

GRAY: So the outside of the glove -- if it is the right glove, the outside of the glove may have DNA from Nancy on the outside and it may have DNA from the suspect on the inside. So if this turns out to be the right glove and if weather has not caused the DNA to be degraded this could very well be a great -- a gamechanger in this case, but that's a lot of ifs.

If this turns out to be the right glove found a mile and a half away from the site, if the DNA was on the glove, if it hasn't been degraded so much, that's a lot of hoops to hop through. But at this point this -- while it's a wild shot, it certainly is a potential lead.

BERMAN: Yep, yep. Look, a lot -- a lot of hoops to jump through, as you say. A longshot but very well the type of thing that if there is a break in the case it may ultimately get them there.

Ken, Richard, thank you both so much for helping us this morning -- appreciate it -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So President Trump says he's giving diplomacy a chance -- sort of, maybe -- saying that during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister -- the Israeli prime minister he told Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States will continue pursuing diplomacy with Iran.

[07:35:05]

The two leaders met at the White House yesterday for three hours. Israel, though, remains skeptical that new nuclear talks with Iran will go anywhere or far enough for the state of Israel.

Trump says that the United States had positive talks with Iran last week in Oman but now says that nothing definitive has been -- had been reached or decided.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal is reporting a second aircraft carrier strike group is now being prepped to head to the Middle East in the coming weeks.

With me right now is CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger -- also, of course, of The New York Times.

David, Trump-Netanyahu-Iran. He left the meeting saying nothing definitive comes out.

When it comes to Iran though a nuclear deal or supporting anti-Iranian regime protests that had challenged the government there -- when it comes to all of this is it clear that U.S. and Israeli security interests align right now coming out of this White House meeting?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES (via Webex by Cisco): Well Kate, I don't think they do.

And first of all, there's no immediate nuclear problem after the bombings that took place last June. You will remember the president said he obliterated the Iranian program. He didn't obliterate it, but he certainly buried the fuel. And so without the fuel you can't make a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which does the inspections of these sites, believes that most of that fuel remains buried. So while people are going to have to deal with the nuclear program the urgency that Iran could build a bomb is gone.

The bigger question for the Israelis are the missiles that they managed to destroy during the 12-day war also in June and they think that that's being reconstituted, and that's an immediate non-nuclear threat to Israel. And, of course, Mr. Netanyahu wants the president to attack those.

And then, as you say, there's the question of supporting the protesters.

BOLDUAN: And just to -- I keep returning to this, but I think it bears repeating and needs to continue to be discussed. What does a nuclear deal have to do with supporting or promising help is on the way to the masses of civilians in Iran who turned out in these anti-regime protests and were then killed and beaten in these crackdowns?

Oh, David's shot might have frozen. Giving it one second, maybe two seconds, maybe three seconds. I don't think we got it, unfortunately. We'll try to get David back. A lot to discuss -- Jonathan.

BERMAN: At least you have me. No David Sanger.

BOLDUAN: I mean, I guess. If I can't get David Sanger, I'll take some more John Berman.

BERMAN: All right. That's right. A pale imitation of David Sanger.

All right. Happening today the U.S. men's hockey team beginning their quest for Olympic gold, and Chloe Kim chasing another gold in the women's halfpipe final. This comes all after -- and you probably saw it all day yesterday -- 21-year-old American speedskater Jordan Stolz took the gold and a record in the 1,000.

With us now, our own speedskating champ, CNN sports anchor Coy Wire. Are you a long track or a short track guy speedskater, Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm a -- I'm frozen. I'm frozen as well. It's about 40 degrees. I'm not frozen. It's beautiful up here. John, good to see you.

American superstar speedskater Jordan Stolz stole the show taking the ice for the first time at these Winter Games, setting a new Olympic record in the men's 1,000 meter. He was just 17 years old at the last Winter Games and didn't medal. He'd won two world titles in the event and now his first Olympic medal is gold. He has a chance to walk away from these games with four of them in all.

The superstar power couple wifey-hubby team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates are taking home silver after a bullfighter-flamenco them routine in the ice dance. They also took gold in the team event. So with their third career medals over four Winter Games, Chock and Bates are now tied with the most medals of any U.S. figure skater.

We had a huge shakeup at these games moments before the skeleton competition when Ukrainian skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych was told by IOC president Kirsty Coventry that she has disqualified him after refusing to adhere to the IOC athlete expression guidelines. No demonstrations, political, racial, religious propaganda. No expressions of any kind on the field of play or podiums allowed.

Coventry actually broke down into tears moments ago talking about it. Heraskevych had worn a helmet in training depicting images of fallen Ukrainian athletes. He was determined to wear it again but was disqualified. He says he plans to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

[07:40:00]

Chloe Kim stepping into the halfpipe yesterday like Maximus in the arena -- her first appearance at these games. The 25-year-old dominating, making it look easy as well. She finished as the top qualifier. But it's not easy to make it look easy. She's overcome a torn labrum in her shoulder. She's dealing with all this pressure of a potential 3-peat. No Olympian has ever won three-straight snowboard halfpipes.

She says that she's learned a lot since winning her first gold at just 17 years old at the PyeongChang Games. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHLOE KIM, EYEING HISTORIC 3-PEAT IN HALFPIPE: As I've gotten older, um, I have started to learn more about myself and kind of what my boundaries are and what I'm capable of doing. Maybe, like, sometimes I need to learn when to back off. And I think taking a lot of time off has been really important for me and my mental well-being. It's been a really beautiful journey to learn more about myself and kind of discover who I am as a 25-year-old now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, the Simone Biles of the halfpipe. Chloe is back in action in the finals starting at 1:30 Eastern, so look out for that.

Also later today NHL players have returned to Olympic ice for the first time in 12 years and the USA has their first game facing Latvia at 3:10 Eastern.

And John, you asked if I was a 500-meter guy or a 1,000-meter guy. I'm more of like a one-liter guy. The fermented grape juice here in Italy -- it turns out it's pretty darn good.

BERMAN: Yeah, not so bad. Not so bad, right, which is why you should all adhere to Chloe Kim's advice about workload. You know, liberal vacation policy. Liberal vacation policy good for everyone.

WIRE: That's right.

BERMAN: I'll also add if you win three halfpipes does it make it a 1 1/2 pipe?

Coy Wire, thank you very much -- appreciate it.

New this morning social media on defense. CEOs trying to make the case their sites are not addictive. So how do you explain all the scrolling?

And a serious parliamentary point of order. We have the video. We have the video. BOLDUAN: Oh!

BERMAN: What caused lawmakers to break out in a full-on brawl.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:46:30]

BOLDUAN: New evidence, new details after an American citizen was shot five times by border patrol agents. This was in Chicago last year. Thirty-year-old Miramar -- Marimar, rather, Martinez survived the shooting and since then the charges that were brought against her have been dropped. But now a federal judge has also ordered a never-before- seen body camera footage in this case to be released.

CNN's Omar Jimenez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORDER PATROL AGENT: Cameras on.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This is newly- released body camera video. A team of three border patrol agents is driving through a Southside Chicago neighborhood. Two have guns drawn. Marimar Martinez, an American citizen and schoolteacher, is driving next to them honking her horn, warning people to the presence of federal immigration enforcement.

(Horn honking)

BORDER PATROL AGENT: Do something b*tch.

JIMENEZ (voiceover): Another vehicle is behind the agents, also honking the horn.

BORDER PATROL AGENT: All right, it's time to get aggressive and get the f*** out because they're trying to box us in.

JIMENEZ (voiceover): It all happens in seconds.

BORDER PATROL AGENT: All right (INAUDIBLE). All right, out of the car. Be advised we've been struck, we've been struck. Get out!

(Gunshots)

JIMENEZ (voiceover): Martinez was shot five times and survived.

In this surveillance video you can see the front of the agents' SUV come to a stop. Four seconds later Martinez's silver Nissan drives off, she says, fearing for her life.

The Department of Homeland Security was quick to accuse her of attacking federal law enforcement, saying border patrol agents were "ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles." FBI director Kash Patel posted on social media about the incident.

"Attack our law enforcement and this FBI will find you and bring you to justice." The post also included a link to video of a car-ramming, but it had no connection to Martinez's case.

(Horn honking)

JIMENEZ (voiceover): And the body camera video tells a different story. In the leadup to the collision you hear agents say they are going to collide with Martinez.

BORDER PATROL AGENT: We're going to make contact and we're boxed in.

JIMENEZ (voiceover): And just before the moment of impact it's agent Charles Exum who sharply turns his steering wheel in the direction of Martinez -- proof, according to her attorney, that they hit her vehicle; not the other way around.

And as for the claim of being boxed in, this surveillance video calls that comment into question with nothing in the path ahead of the border agents' vehicle.

The court also released text messages and emails from after the shooting, including one message from border patrol commander Gregory Bovino just hours after the incident, offering to delay the retirement of agent Exum, who shot Martinez. "In light of your excellent service in Chicago you have much left to do."

And then a text message exchange between agent Exum and someone whose name was redacted. "Are they supportive," someone asked. "Big time. Everyone has been, including Chief Bovino, Chief Banks, Sec. Noem, and El Jefe himself."

In various texts to and from fellow agents the mood was celebratory. "Good job, brother. You are a legend among agents. You better f-ing know that. Beers on me when I see you at training. That's awesome. You did real good. Damnit, man. Good shooting."

The day after the shooting Martinez was indicted. According to the complaint she "forcibly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimated, and interfered with an officer of the United States."

[07:50:00]

After her attorney viewed the body camera footage and other evidence emerged that undermined the government's version of events, prosecutors made an extraordinary move and asked the judge to drop their own case. The judge agreed.

But not long after she told me the shooting still haunts her.

MARIMAR MARTINEZ, SHOT FIVE TIMES BY BORDER PATROL: I don't want to remember that day. You're laying there at night and you're just thinking about, like, what's going to happen. Like it's really emotional to me. So it's like -- it's hard for me to talk about it but I'm trying. JIMENEZ: And that's part of why Martinez pushed to get this information out because she believed it allows people to have a greater understanding of how agents might react after incidents like this no matter the city and to further clear her name because to this point the Department of Homeland Security has never retracted its accusations against Martinez even after the criminal case against her was dropped at the request of the government.

Now as for the shooting agent Charles Exum, Customs and Border Protection did tell CNN that he has been placed on routine administrative leave pending further investigation.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Omar, thank you for that.

Tributes -- they are still pouring in -- pouring in this morning for James Van Der Beek. He was such a huge star for years as the show "DAWSON'S CREEK" was such a hit during its five-year-long run. Van Der Beek, since then, had become quite public about his battle with colorectal cancer.

In a moving handwritten tribute posted to Instagram, his former co- star Katie Holmes talked about this and said that the actor's death was a lot to process. And she also wrote, "I am so grateful to have shared in a piece of Jame's journey. He is beloved." And went on to say that "His life was the journey of a hero."

Colorectal cancer is the leading cause now of cancer deaths among people under the age of 50. James Van Der Beek was 48 years old.

Take a look at this. We will show you. Punches thrown. I mean, it's going down in Turkey's Parliament.

A brawl erupting on the Parliament floor over Turkish President Erdogan's pick to be the country's new justice minister. That man is a controversial figure because as Istanbul chief prosecutor he led a crackdown against the main opposition party. So that's the background to the mess that then ensued. Members of said opposition party and members of the ruling party literally clashing on the Parliament floor while that man took the oath of office.

What's going to happen next? Exciting.

Lines out the door at Taiwanese banks just ahead of the Lunar New Year seen here as Will Ripley -- goodness gracious -- on what's going on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Lunar Year is almost here, and people are lining up at banks like this here in Taiwan to get crisp, new bills in red envelopes. Red symbolizes luck, protection, and new beginnings. And the cash inside is meant to pass good fortune from the giver to the receiver, especially from elders to kids or bosses to employees. And here in Taiwan, like much of East Asia, brand new money is seen as a fresh start -- clean and lucky. Old crumpled bills like this, bad vibes and bad luck.

People line up even longer to get these rare 202,000 new Taiwan dollar bills. They can put all five colors of Taiwanese currency in red packets for extra good luck.

Here in Taiwan people favor even lucky sounding red envelope amounts like 600, 800, or 1,600 for smoothness and prosperity while avoiding any amount with the number four because it sounds like the Mandarin Chinese word for death.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Fascinating. I'm going to the bank now.

All right. So then let's turn to this. Who needs the Olympics -- kidding -- when you've got a luge in your own backyard? That is at least what one Minnesota man is saying.

Steve Blees is a grandfather of eight and he took it upon himself to win some serious grandpa points when he built the kiddos -- a true labor of love -- a nearly 300-foot-long luge track that he calls "Papa Bear's Plunge." Blees took it -- says it took more than 100 hours to build -- packing the snow, flooding it and smoothing it and making it all icy. The track is even lined with lights and, as you can see, candy canes, for the fierce competitors who take to the track.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BLEES' GRANDSON: He worked very hard.

STEVE BLEES' GRANDDAUGHTER: I'm just very grateful to have a grandpa who, like, does this, and I really love it. It's really fun.

STEVE BLEES, "PAPA BEAR," BUILT BACKYARD LUGE TRACK FOR GRANDKIDS: Hi, pal. That's why I'm doing it, right there -- to see the smile on their face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And they can't complain when they're going 70 miles an hour -- just kidding. He actually -- he has actually done this before. The first time was in 2022, and it also went viral. Now after a two-year hiatus due to many things, including warm weather, the track is back and longer than ever -- John.

BERMAN: It's so nice to see.

All right. Happening now a landmark trial about social media. A lawsuit accuses companies of intentionally developing features that hook young people and harm their mental health.

[07:55:00]

Now Instagram had Adam Mosseri testify yesterday that addiction is not possible, but problematic use is.

Maureen Molak feels otherwise. Her son David died by suicide in 2016 after she says he was cyberbullied. He was 16 years old. Maureen says he had become addicted to both internet gaming and social media.

She founded the group ParentsSOS, or Parents for Safe Online Spaces, to advocate for stricter rules on social media platforms.

And Maureen joins us now. We so appreciate you being with us.

And before we talk about the trial, which is a landmark case, just tell us about your son David. What was he like?

MAUREEN, MOLAK, CO-FOUNDER, PARENTSSOS, CO-FOUNDER, THE DAVID'S LEGACY FOUNDATION (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning, John.

David was the youngest of three brothers. He grew up in a -- in a Christian home. We went to church every Sunday. He was an Eagle Scout and a great basketball player.

And after a serious injury he turned to social media and online gaming to fill that social void. And over a period of about eight-nine months we started to see a real change in his behavior. That he was showing all of the signs of an addiction and we were getting him mental health support.

And it was at that time that he became the target of cyberbullying, and it was just the final match on a huge bonfire --

BERMAN: Um-hum.

MOLAK: -- that exploded in our home.

BERMAN: I keep looking at these photos that we're putting up. What a smile. So many teeth there. We are so sorry for your loss.

The case argues that the platforms are designed to addict young users. So from what you saw in your own home how does that line up?

MOLAK: Uh, it absolutely lines up because of the endless scroll, the constant notifications, the intermittent rewards, which were really important to David. It was those types of behaviors that you would see in a casino were exactly what David experienced and was causing him great depression and anxiety.

BERMAN: So Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testified that he does not think users can be "clinically addicted" -- that was the term he used -- to social media apps, but he did acknowledge problematic use.

How important do you think that distinction is? Is there even a distinction?

MOLAK: Well, he can call it whatever he wants to call it. But I can say from my experience because it impacted David's everyday life and it caused him great distress to the fact that we had to move schools, and the end result was him taking his life. So I don't know how much -- you know, if we want to wordsmith that in the way that makes it easy for him to say that, then that's on him.

BERMAN: So these tech companies say they've all added parental controls and safety features. Instagram's got the teen accounts.

To what extent do these safeguards address the problems that you see?

MOLAK: Well, we know from experience and from whistleblowers that a lot of the safeguards that they roll out are just a P.R. stunt. They don't actually really work. There's always workarounds.

We've gone to the social media companies, and we've told them about these faulty safeguards that are not a -- not helping America's families really be able to protect their kids online, which is the reason why we need Congress to step in and take action right now. They haven't done anything to protect kids online in decades -- before the invention of social media. And that's what we're doing, is we're calling on Congress to take action and pass the Kids Online Safety Act -- a strong version -- the Senate version.

BERMAN: So that's what you want Congress to do. What do you want to see as an outcome from this trial?

MOLAK: Well, I think that the evidence is going to speak for itself and the public is going to see we have pulled back the curtain. They will see the evidence that is going to vindicate all of the families who have been impacted by these design features that they have not put safety in front of kids' mental health. And, um -- and we're going to see -- it's going to be a day of reckoning.

And we don't know what the outcome of this trial will be, obviously, yet, but we do believe that it will lead to changes. It will lead to Congress doing something. And the platforms will be, you know, publicly, you know, humiliated and -- about what's going to come out in this trial.

BERMAN: Maureen Molak, we do appreciate your time. We are so sorry for your loss. Your son David -- and we see the picture of him again right behind you -- he'd be proud of you. Appreciate it.

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