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Actor Robert Duvall Dies; Father of Alleged School Shooter on Trial; Partial Government Shutdown; FBI Analyzes DNA Evidence in Nancy Guthrie Case. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired February 16, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Investigators in the Nancy Guthrie case now waiting on DNA tests that could reveal a key piece of evidence in the search, all while Nancy's daughter Savannah issues a new plea to bring her mother home.

Plus, there's renewed scrutiny surrounding the British monarchy over the Epstein files, new documents sparking questions about what, if anything, two princesses knew. We will take a closer look at the fallout.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And American skating star Ilia Malinin, AKA Quad God, elaborates further about his disappointing finish in the men's figure skating final. Ahead, see what he has to say about coming up short in that performance and his future in the sport.

And we're following these major developing stories and so much more all coming in right here into the CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We begin this afternoon with the desperate search for Nancy Guthrie now in its third week. Today, the FBI is waiting on the final forensic results from DNA found on a glove near Nancy Guthrie's home, a glove that officials say matches the description of the one worn by the suspect seen on Guthrie's doorbell camera.

Over the weekend Savannah Guthrie made a new emotional plea for her mother, saying -- quote -- "We still have hope and we still believe." She then spoke directly to anyone who may have her.

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SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": It's never too late. And you're not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Josh Campbell leads us off.

Josh, first on the timing of this DNA test, how long might it take?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the results to the FBI could come at any moment now.

And this was a significant development that we heard from them yesterday, that there have been these search parties out there looking for any type of evidence, anything that this alleged suspect may have discarded. And among several gloves that they found, they found one glove that they believe actually matches the description of that glove you see there on your video that the person was wearing.

The FBI then took that, along with the Pima County sheriff, shipped that off to a laboratory to try to determine if they can pull DNA they say was on the glove for testing. Now, the next process after they actually complete that is to send it through criminal databases, to include a database called CODIS, to see if this DNA actually matches any known criminals out there.

That would be the quickest way to determine if -- the identity of this actual person. But, interestingly, there's this other new burgeoning technology, this familial genetic DNA, that we have seen used in several cases. We expect authorities would also be submitting it to these third-party companies that provide services to the general public.

Even if the suspect himself never used one of those DNA matching services, perhaps a family member did, which could help them along the way of actually possibly making identification. To be sure, still a lot of work to be done.

And then the final point I will make is that this could be the biggest clue so far we have about that alleged suspect's direction of travel after this alleged abduction. So the location where that glove was found, Boris, would actually be key as well.

SANCHEZ: That's a really good point.

Josh, I also wonder what you make of Savannah Guthrie's emotional plea directly to her mother's potential captors. What message does it send?

CAMPBELL: Well, it's heart-wrenching. And, obviously,Savannah has been leaning on her faith as she appeals to whatever goodness might be inside this person that abducted and then is now holding her mother.

As you heard there, she just said really an impassioned plea that it's still -- there's still time to do the right thing. That is what they are asking. Sadly, what this video appears to tell us is that there's still not any two-way conversation between the alleged abductor and either investigators nor the Guthrie family, because, in a case like this, you typically wouldn't see that type of appeal publicly if actual discussions and negotiations were under way.

So, obviously, incredibly frustrating for the family, for all of us, for law enforcement as well, that it still appears that there's no identity of who this person is, no communication. I'm also told by a law enforcement source that there's no primary even theory, motive right now about why this actually occurred.

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Everything right now remains on the table, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

Josh Campbell, thanks so much for the update.

To those who have seen anything suspicious or happen to know anything about the potential whereabouts of Nancy Guthrie, you're being asked to call the Pima County sheriff, either of the numbers on your screen. You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Boris. Heartbreaking.

All right, we're now on day three of the partial U.S. government shutdown, more than 250,000 DHS workers still on the job, but most are not getting paid. Meantime, with Congress on a weeklong recess, talks to end this shutdown are at a standstill.

Democrats say they will not reopen the Department of Homeland Security without restrictions on immigration enforcement, but Republicans say the demands go too far and ignore agents' safety.

CNN's Lauren Fox is joining me right now.

Lauren, are we seeing any progress on talks or scheduling for more talks to end this shutdown?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, these negotiations have been exceedingly slow and difficult, in part because the issue of immigration enforcement, how to reform the way that the Trump administration has been going about this, it remains really difficult, right?

I mean, this is one of the stickiest issues that Congress has combated for decades, and we have seen that time and time again.

But these negotiations have also seemed to stall out. Over the course of the last two weeks, we saw very slow trading back and forth of proposals. And we are told that, last week, the White House turned over some legislative text of their most recent proposal.

They have yet, according to a source I talked to this morning, heard back from Senate Democrats with a counteroffer. Obviously, that just shows you that lawmakers are away from Washington right now, and while those talks are continuing, they're moving at a snail's pace in this moment, Fredricka.

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WHITFIELD: Still pretty dug in to their position.

FOX: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lauren Fox, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right, still to come, we're following opening arguments in the murder trial of Colin Gray. Gray is just the third parent in history to be tried for a school shooting carried out by their child.

Plus: Fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files threatens to engulf two more members of the British royal family after the names of Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice appear hundreds of times in the documents.

And, later, another figure skating gold medal is up for grabs.

We're live at the Winter Olympic Games with the latest -- that and so much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: A school shooting trial is now under way, focused not on the suspected gunman, but on his father.

Jurors heard opening statements in the trial of Colin Gray, whose son Colt is accused of committing a mass shooting in 2024. Two teachers and two students were killed when nine others were wounded at Apalachee High just about an hour north of Atlanta.

The father pleaded not guilty to some 30 charges, including second- degree murder. He's accused of buying the rifle his son allegedly used in the attack. Prosecutors say he gave the teen access to the weapon despite being warned, the boy might be a danger to others.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following this trial.

So, Jean, talk to us about opening statements. How did they go?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Opening statements, sad on both accounts.

I mean, overall, this is very sad, focused on a dysfunctional family. And the defense concedes that. But it was the prosecution that talked about that, months before it happened, that the FBI had become aware that, on dispatch, that Colt Gray, the son -- and that's the father.

The father is charged with the school shooting. He didn't pull the trigger, but because the prosecution says that he knew and had warning that this could happen and allowed his son to have a gun.

But back two months before this happened, law enforcement went to the Gray house and told Colin Gray, the defendant, your son is on dispatch saying he's going to shoot up the school. And so Colt came out. And Colt said, no, I didn't do that. I must have been hacked. And that was about it.

And it appears as though the father may have believed him. But, furthermore, even before this happened, Colt Gray, the son, had a shrine in his bedroom -- and I think we have a picture of that -- showing how much he favored and admired the Parkland serial school shooter.

That's Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland shooter. That was in his bedroom. There was also, during opening statements, about the fact that Colt Gray had anger issues. He had Googled how to kill my father. He had cuttings, that he had bashed through a door. He had cut through windows. He had cut himself on his arms.

The father knew about these things, but yet, in December, before the school shooting, months before, he bought his son an AR-style rifle. And on the morning that he went to school in September of 2024, he got that rifle. He put the stock in his book bag, but as the nozzle was showing, and he got on the bus -- and I think we have a short video of that, where he put poster board around the barrel of the gun right there, so it would not show.

And that's him going to school on the morning of the shooting. And then, when he got to school, he decided he was going to go, say, I have to go to the counselor's office, and he went to the counselor's office.

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But, Boris, here's what's so sad. He hadn't been in school for the whole previous year. It was a transient situation. His mother had been charged criminally, had been put in a mental hospital. The father had the care, custody and control of all three children by himself, and, obviously, according to the defense, trying to do the best he could.

SANCHEZ: And, to that point, Jean, what is the defense anticipated to argue here?

CASAREZ: That he was out of the loop, that he -- he didn't know anything, that Colt had gone to his mother and told his mother, I have this infatuation with the Parkland killer, and I even -- I e-mailed him and I sent him money for his commissary fund. I'm waiting to hear back, but the mother never told the father, that Colt was also engaging in other types of behavior, and he would tell his mother about them.

But he said, don't tell my dad. Don't tell my father. And she wouldn't. That the grandmother believed he need mental help, and so the grandmother went to a behavioral area where he could get help, but she didn't tell the father everything she was doing. She went to the school, but didn't tell the father.

And so the defense is saying, there has to be a known risk. This father has to know that his son was going to shoot up the school, and he didn't have that knowledge.

SANCHEZ: Wow. We will see how this case plays out.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much. For more of this case and Jean's analysis, you could go to CNN All Access by scanning the code that you see there on the left side of your screen.

We have some breaking news into CNN, some sad news to share with you. Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall has died at the age of 95. We have much more in his life and legacy after a quick break.

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WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.

This breaking news into CNN: Actor Robert Duvall has died. In a career spanning seven decades, the actor won an Academy Award.

SANCHEZ: And he appeared in many classics, like "The Godfather." He also perhaps was best known for his incredible role as Lt. Col. Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now."

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ROBERT DUVALL, ACTOR: We will pick your boat up and put it down like a baby right where you want it.

This is the First of the Ninth Air Cav, son.

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SANCHEZ: Let's discuss his legacy with Clayton Davis. He's the chief awards editor for "Variety."

Clayton, your reaction to this news.

CLAYTON DAVIS, CHIEF AWARDS EDITOR, "VARIETY": Hi. Thanks for having me.

I mean, it's incredibly sad. When you look at this time that we're currently in, after losing Gene Hackman over the last year, and you look at a person like Robert Duvall, who's been a staple of cinema for over six or seven decades, it's a loss that, it's incredibly sad.

But, at 95 years old, I mean, what a career, what a life, so many memorable roles, including "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now." "Smell of napalm in the morning" is like one of those one-liners you will just remember forever.

WHITFIELD: Right.

DAVIS: And for people like my wife, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is her favorite film all time, Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird." This is -- he means a lot to a lot of people.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I mean, there are so many things that come to mind when you think Robert Duvall, but "the smell of napalm in the morning," that's like the number one thing when you think of his dynamic performance in "Apocalypse Now."

And I wonder, do you have like a favorite movie that you remember him being -- starred in that really kind of cemented who he was as an actor and how he could simply deliver like no one else?

DAVIS: You know, for a lot of people, they will say "The Godfather."

But, listen, I was a '90s kid. So you catch up with a lot of the classics as you get older. And I remember one of the first movies I remember watching Robert Duvall in was "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas, Joel Schumacher classic in the mid-'90s.

I remember seeing him in "The Apostle," which is a movie he directed, got nominated for best actor, the same year as "Titanic." It was an incredible performance. He played a preacher. And then he was still working even still recently. Just over a decade ago, he got nominated for another Oscar for "The Judge" opposite Robert Downey Jr., became the third oldest person ever to be nominated for supporting actor. He was 84 at the time.

So, there -- he's one of those actors that, if we have to argue about what's his best movie, that means you're a pretty good actor. We can't agree what your best is.

WHITFIELD: Can't choose. Oh, that's so right.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no doubt.

His wife put out a statement, saying that he gave everything to his characters, that, to her, he was simply everything. How is the rest of Hollywood reacting to this news?

DAVIS: I mean, this is very recent.

This has only come out in the last hour or so. I'm sure we're going to see hundreds of tributes pouring in. And the fact that this happened today, and it's raining here in California, I mean, it seems also pretty serendipitous, like the world is crying because we lost a great man today.

WHITFIELD: Oh, wow.

DAVIS: So -- but also a life well-lived.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

I wonder, Clayton -- you could probably relate to this, Boris. This was my one little brush with Robert Duvall. And this is at a place that you're probably very familiar with, Clayton. This is at Dan Tana's there in Los Angeles area. Kind of a lot of the Hollywood royalty would go there, have lunch.

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I was meeting some friends there. And Robert Duvall was just kind of like just chatting it up with the maitre d' there. He was a regular. And I remember at first I thought, boy, he looks like Robert Duvall. But nobody's really clamoring around him.

But that was kind of the atmosphere of Dan Tana's, which I came to learn later. And I simply just said like a hello to him, and he just kind of nodded and went on about his business. So that was my quick little brush with Robert Duvall. But it was very pleasant and very just lovely to see how just kind of laissez-faire he was.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Yes. I'm sure, as Clayton said, there's going to be many more attributes to him.

Clayton Davis, thank you so much for sharing your time and perspective.

DAVIS: Well, thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: We will definitely stay on top of this sad news, Robert Duvall passing away at 95, throughout the afternoon.

We have also just learned that TMZ received a fourth demand letter from someone claiming to know who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie. And, this time, TMZ says it's responded back with the blessing of the FBI. Hear their message for the sender right after this.

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