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Search For Nancy Guthrie Stretches Into Third Week; Sheriff Recounts Helping Shooting Victim; Prosecutor: Father Was Told To Restrict Son's Access To Guns; FBI Won't Share Information In Pretti Shooting With MN Investigators; Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) Discusses About Counteroffer From Democrats; Dems Have Not Countered Latest WH Offer In Shutdown Talks. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 16, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Flooding is going to be a concern for the remainder of the day today, especially in the yellow-shaded area here that runs from Monterey all the way through downtown Los Angeles. That's a level two out of four, talking about how much more rain is expected, about one to three inches on top of what has already fallen. And snowfall across the Sierras and Rockies is going to be measured in feet.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Oh, wow. A lot to keep an eye on. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for that. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: The search for Nancy Guthrie now in its third week as investigators are analyzing a potential key piece of evidence, DNA on a glove found near Guthrie's home.

Plus, the trial begins for a father facing criminal charges over a mass shooting allegedly carried out by his son. We'll have the latest from today's opening statements.

And Minnesota officials left in the dark, CNN learning the FBI will not be sharing evidence surrounding the killing of Alex Pretti. We're following these major developing stories and so much more all coming in right now to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: As the desperate search for Nancy Guthrie enters its third week, the case today appears zeroed in on DNA evidence found on a glove near Guthrie's home. Right now, we're waiting to see if the FBI has learned anything new from further testing that they ordered.

Meantime, in her latest message to the public, Savannah Guthrie is saying, quote, "We still have hope and we still believe." She then spoke directly to anyone who may have her mom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: 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 this hour. Josh, first walk us through this DNA testing.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, this could be a critical development. We learned yesterday from the FBI that authorities have been scouring the area around the Guthrie home. We've seen search parties out there ourselves. The law enforcement source told me that they were trying to determine if this person had seen in that video outside her front ports, there had actually discarded any items along the way after Nancy Guthrie suspected abduction here.

Authorities say they found one glove that does appear to match that glove that you are seeing on your screen. They say that it contains some type of DNA, which has now been sent for laboratory testing. Of course, the big hope is that they will be able to connect that to this incident and then possibly identify a suspect.

A few different ways they're doing that. They're sending it through various different databases, including what's called CODIS to determine if this is someone who might actually match a known or suspected criminal around the United States. That could prove potentially useful. We expect they would also be sending it through genealogy testing services out there as well.

We've seen that in numerous cases actually prove fruitful because even if the suspect himself didn't actually use one of these type of, you know, lineage mapping services, a family member may have. And because of the unique nature of DNA, particularly within families, that could be a useful clue.

So, we're waiting for authorities to see if there's any determination that they glean something useful. The final thing, Boris, is that, you know, today we still have no idea what direction they even went, where this person had fled to after this alleged abduction. The location where that glove was found could be the biggest clue yet about a suspected route of travel.

SANCHEZ: And Josh, a moment ago, we played a portion of that heart wrenching latest appeal from Savannah Guthrie directly to the public and to whoever may have her 84-year-old mom. As someone who formerly worked cases like this, what do you glean from this?

CAMPBELL: Well, you know, I wish I had better news, but sadly, that's not the type of appeal that you see if there is two-way communication going on between the family of a victim and an alleged abductor. And that is what has been so confounding in this whole situation is that in a typical, if you will, kidnapping, there will be some kind of demand. The, you know, both sides have something the other wants. And we would typically hear from an abductor laying out those demands.

We haven't really seen that yet. There have been some of these, you know, emails and messages to places like TMZ that doesn't seem to have panned out yet. But we continue to hear the family now appealing directly to the person who might be holding Nancy. Of course, all of us hope that that actually leads to her safe release.

SANCHEZ: No doubt. Josh Campbell, thank you so much for that reporting. To anyone who may have seen anything suspicious or happens to know anything about the potential whereabouts of Nancy Guthrie, you're being asked to call the Pima County sheriff on that number on your screen. You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Fred.

[15:05:05]

WHITFIELD: All right, Boris. A trial in the state of Georgia is the latest case to test the limits of who is responsible for a school shooting. The father of an accused gunman is now on trial. He's facing second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other charges.

Colin Gray has pleaded not guilty to 29 felonies for the 2024 mass shooting at Apalachee High School near Atlanta. His son, Colt, allegedly gunned down two students and two teachers and wounded nine others.

In opening statements today, prosecutors said Colin Gray bought his son a rifle. Despite being warned that Colt could pose a risk to others. And moments ago, the Barrow County Sheriff gave emotional testimony. He described responding to a student who had just been shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JUD SMITH, BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: She said, do not cover me with that sheet. Don't cover my face. Please don't let me die. And I said, we're not going to let that happen. I remember asking her name. She said, "Natalie (ph)."

WHITFIELD: CNN's Isabel Rosales is outside the court in Winder, Georgia. So, Isabel, bring us up to speed on what's been happening.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Fred, by the way, that moment with the Barrow County Sheriff, Jud Smith, was so emotional, especially him describing not just speaking with juvenile students and helping to run the raid, but also telling the families of these victims that their loved one was gone. It was so emotional that we even saw the assistant D.A.'s, Patricia Brooks and Alix Daniel, seen taking tissues, wiping away tears in the row behind me where the family members sit down. You could see many of them, certain aspects of this, of all these descriptions turning away. You could hear them sniffling.

Clearly a very emotional day here in court, which extends to other witnesses, including the second period teacher, the algebra teacher, where this went down, Katherine Greer. She was emotional, in tears, describing the moment she gets up to answer the door and she sees Colt through the window of the door holding a gun. And at that moment, we actually see surveillance footage of her hitting the panic button over and over as the kids run to the other side of the room, huddling. She turns off the lights.

And then this powerful moment, too, where we hear a 911 call from one of her students saying there's a shooting at Apalachee High School. What do we do? What do we do? He's right behind the door. That moment was so visceral that you could hear reactions from around me, again, the family members crying and turning away. I even heard one say, oh, God, in hearing that moment.

And then, we also heard from a different teacher the period right before who had an interaction with Colt. He came up to her and she testified that he asked her, have you had an active shooter drill? And her response is, yeah, we actually had one last week. She was so concerned about that bizarre conversation that she fired off an e-mail to the school counselor. She was also suspicious about his backpack and this object that was sticking out of it covered in this poster and a sock on top. It was sticking out. She asked him what that was. And she -- he said to her, I'll show you later if you want. Now, we know that that was an AR-15-style rifle, the same one that the state is saying he used to carry out this attack.

That teacher also testified that he was agitated or nervous when she asked about that backpack that he said was a school project. And it was so obviously heavy she offered to help him carry it. But once he left her class, she said this, I felt in every fiber of my being that something was wrong. And she thought that might be a gun. And she spent the next minutes before all of this went down chasing after administrators because she was believing that that was a danger to everyone.

I want you to listen now to the state, to what they say that this trial is about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN SMITH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: This case is about this defendant and his actions. His actions in allowing a child that he has custody over access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that that child was going to harm others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And on the defense side, they're claiming that Colin was a person working a full-time job. He was looking after three kids. He was attentive to his child. And that this, you cannot hold someone criminally responsible for failing to predict what was intentionally hidden from them. Listen now to his defense team.

[15:10:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN HOBBS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: When someone conceals a plan, deceives the people around them, acts independently. But the -- the law does not allow us to pretend that the people left behind should have seen through all of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: But ultimately, these 15 jurors, eight men, seven women will be the ones to be the -- the fact finders and to determine what is the correct verdict here. This trial is expected to last around three weeks. WHITFIELD: All right. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much. And remember,

you can watch the trial live on CNN. All access by scanning the code that you see right there on your screen.

All right. Still to come, Minnesota officials saying today the FBI is still keeping them from seeing evidence in the killing of Alex Pretti.

Plus, a chatbot crackdown in the U.K. The new A.I. regulations aimed at protecting children following global outcry over X's Grok chatbot, rather, creating sexualized images of women and children.

And later, former President Barack Obama forced to clarify after claiming aliens are real during a podcast interview that sent the Internet on fire. That and so much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:15:45]

SANCHEZ: This just in to CNN, Minnesota's top law enforcement agency says the FBI has informed the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that the FBI will not share information gathered in the Alex Pretti shooting with state investigators. The 27-year-old Pretti was shot to death by federal agents on January 24th during a confrontation on a Minneapolis street. CNN's John Miller joins us now.

John, how unusual is this decision by the FBI to not share information or evidence with state investigators?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: It's highly unusual, and particularly, you know, in a case like this in Minnesota where the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is a statewide agency like their state police detective bureau. They're a very advanced group. They have a particular unit that is actually in the business of investigating police-involved shootings. They have a lot of experience in this regard. So, to keep them out of a case that happens in their jurisdiction, that happens on their ground, and where they have a great deal of know-how is really unusual and needless to say, they're upset about it.

Drew Evans, the head of the agency, came out and called it unprecedented, and said they were surprised and said they'd investigate anyway.

SANCHEZ: What would that investigation look like without some of the evidence that the FBI might have?

MILLER: So, that is where we get to the more unusual part, which is they're perfectly capable of interviewing the witnesses, collecting the videos that they can get, you know, working at the crime scene for reconstruction. But what the FBI would have in an investigation like this is going to be the interviews with the agents involved in the shooting, the federal officials on the scene.

It doesn't mean they can't put together a case, but usually in a case like this, the people holding back the evidence are the suspects, not your law enforcement partners. So, they're going to have to navigate their way through this. You just don't see this much.

SANCHEZ: Wow. John Miller, thank you so much for that reporting.

Coming up, the second partial government shutdown of 2026 now in its third day. Republicans balking at Democrats' demands for major changes to ICE and the DHS. We're going to speak with a Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee about where things stand after a quick break.

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[15:22:49]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. No clear path forward as the partial U.S. government shutdown stretches into its third day now. A source familiar with talks tells CNN that negotiators are moving slowly. And Democrats have not yet countered the White House's legislative offer last week.

Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw of Virginia is joining us right now. Great to see you. So, when do you expect a counteroffer from Democrats to come?

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): I think and I hope that the conversation and dialogue will continue over the course of this week. I know President Trump is in Florida today on the golf course. Hopefully when he returns tonight or tomorrow, the negotiations and conversations can continue in a serious way.

WHITFIELD: Border czar Tom Homan had this to say yesterday about some of the reforms that Democrats are asking for, including masks. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: I think some of the asks are -- are just -- I think they're unreasonable because there is no racial profiling. There is identifying marks. But masks, you know, while they talk about maybe passing legislation to make it illegal to dox agents or -- or something like that. But ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well ...

HOMAN: ... the mask right now for officer safety reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So, he is saying that these agents and officers are wearing these masks to protect themselves. What's your response to that?

WALKINSHAW: Well, actually, officers wearing these masks -- they're putting themselves at risk because folks in the community, they don't know whether these are real law enforcement officers or just someone who wants to do them harm. With respect to doxing anyone who threatens or does harm to federal law enforcement, the law already prevents that. They should be prosecuted if they do that. That's the way to protect federal law enforcement and any other law enforcement, not to have them masked like secret police. It's un-American and not democratic.

WHITFIELD: Homan is also saying that this shutdown won't even affect immigration operations. ICE has $75 billion of funding through 2029. It's the other parts of the department, you know, bearing the brunt of this. Dulles Airport, your jurisdiction or your state, as well as Reagan Airport, and many TSA employees are right on the, you know, border of -- of your district.

[15:25:07]

And Virginia is also home to many members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

So, what do you say to your constituents who say, oh, no, not again, working without a paycheck?

WALKINSHAW: Well, look, shutdown is not where we want to be. What my constituents who work for federal agencies, including DHS agencies, know is Trump administration has been shutting down these agencies for more than a year. FEMA has been dismantled, right? Agency after agency and DHS, the Trump administration has taken the chainsaw to it. CISA, the cybersecurity agency, 30 percent of its workforce fired by Trump.

So, they know that this technical shutdown that we're in now is serious and important. But they've been enduring a shutdown from the Trump administration for a long time, with the exception, as you note, of ICE and CBP.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel any urgency or does it seem there is any urgency to get things going again, to get negotiations going to end this partial shutdown?

WALKINSHAW: I feel urgency for two reasons. One, the reforms we need for ICE and CBP related to immigration enforcement are urgent. I don't want to see another American citizen killed in the streets because these folks are out of control and lawless. Second, I don't want federal workers at DHS to miss a paycheck. Good news is most DHS employees got a paycheck on the 13th. The next payday is at the end of the month. I think that's a critical deadline. We need to have urgency as we approach that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Congressman James Walkinshaw, great to see you.

WALKINSHAW: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

All right, Boris.

SANCHEZ: We're following breaking news right now out of Providence, Rhode Island. We've learned that the FT -- ATF is on site following reports of a shooting at a hockey rink. We're going to continue following the developing details. Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

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