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Kyle Vowinkel is Interviewed about the Guthrie Case; Numbers on Governors and State Power; Marianna Anaya is Interviewed about Zorro Ranch; Russia, Ukraine and U.S. Talks End; Zuckerberg Takes the Stand. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired February 18, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:36]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, the sheriff in Pima County, Arizona, says investigators are canvasing gun shops trying to match the unique holster that you can see right here. They're asking about, hey, did you sell a holster like this? Do you recognize this gun? But they're also asking about more apparently.

I want you to listen to this interview on Fox with one gun store owner who says that the FBI is asking about names and maybe also potential specific photos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP MARTIN, GUN SHOP OWNER: I was able to look at the photos that he was showing me. And I told the FBI agent, I was like, I'm investigator, but my intuition is telling me, based on how these people's facial hair looks like, it looks like the guy that was on camera at that house doing the kidnaping. He was like, yes, that's why I'm here. He was like, we're going to be going to different gun shops checking to see if any of these names that I'm showing you here, any of these people have purchased a gun in the last year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now is former FBI hostage rescue team operator and crisis negotiator, Kyle Vowinkel.

Kyle, thank you so much for being with us.

So, that gun shop owner there, yes, we knew that the FBI was looking into this holster, which may be unique, and the gun itself, but I'm not sure we knew until yesterday when we heard from this owner, and also our reporting from Ed Lavandera, that these owners, like this guy right here, they're being shown names of people. Now, I don't know what those names are, and they're being shown photos of people of whom I don't know. But what does it tell you that investigators have a list of names and maybe a collection of photos?

KYLE VOWINKEL, FORMER FBI HOSTAGE RESCUE TEAM OPERATOR AND CRISIS NEGOTIATOR: Well, the investigation is trying to narrow people out and exclude people out from being persons of interest. The fact that they have pictures and names is a sign at least they've narrowed down a list of individuals who have purchased that holster and possibly that weapon. And as we've talked about in the past, the holster and the weapon are complete mismatch. They don't belong together. They don't fit. One is for a revolver, the holster, and he's carrying a -- it looks like a semiautomatic pistol. So, someone that would buy those two in combination would hopefully stand out in that gun shop owner's mind and just be enough of an anomaly that they would pick up on it if the -- when the FBI comes back and talks to them.

So, they have a list of, you know, persons that have purchased those items. And they've probably tracked credit card receipts for that specific holster and possibly pistol, and now they're just trying to match potential names of those purchasers, I think, to people that look similar in profile to what we saw on the porch video.

BERMAN: Maybe an advance in this investigation.

One other bit of information that came up with the Pima County sheriff yesterday, he was talking about the image taken from the doorbell camera and the closeup of the glove that everyone has seen. And there's a suggestion that maybe -- and you have to look really closely here, that there's a very circular indentation in the glove, which indicates that maybe inside that circle, you see it right there, there's a ring being worn by the individual under the glove there. It's hard to get a good look, but you can see it depending on which way you look at it there.

If they can say, hey, this man was wearing a large ring maybe on his pinky, what would that do for the investigation?

VOWINKEL: Well, it's just another further identifier that the FBI can use to track down the individual, right? We're -- it shows we're just -- we're still expanding our collection to -- and put out additional identifiers to help people recognize this person. So, the ring is just something else. You know, I wear my wedding ring. Other people wear different rings. Maybe that's something that someone will associate now with that person. So. every single identifier that we can add to the profile of this subject on the porch is hopefully going to lead to his eventual identification

BERMAN: And then one final thing. The FBI reposted away (ph) its plea for help here with this word, reminder. Reminder that there's a $100,000 reward. Reminder of the description of the individual. I'm curious what you think the FBI is saying by reminding people, the fact they had to do that.

[08:35:01]

VOWINKEL: Yes, I think this is at the forefront of most of our nation right now. And the reward is just further incentivizing that, you know, monetary compensation for someone to call in. So, they're hopeful that someone is going to pick up on one of those tips, whether it's the backpack or the, you know, unique eyebrows or the ring on the finger, as you mentioned, and that person that may be close to this person will pick up that telephone and call because the family, you know, the family needs to know what happened to their mother. And this -- you know we're on day 18 now of this agonizingly slow case for the Guthrie family. And I've been with families through this. The Michael Scott Moore was kidnaped by Somali pirates and held for 977 days. So, every day is brutal on the families. And, you know, the families have described to me as living minute by minute, suspended between fear and hope.

BERMAN: It's got to be excruciating.

Kyle Vowinkel, thank you so much for your time this morning.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, this week at the White House, governors from across the country are headed to Washington to meet with President Trump. Traditionally, this is a bipartisan gathering, but President Trump has made it a thing. He had initially excluded two governors from attending. Maryland's governor, Democratic governor, Wes Moore, and Colorado's Democratic governor, Jared Polis. They have since now been invited.

But this puts a spotlight on the fact that there will be 39 gubernatorial races across the country in the midterm elections. And of those races, 21 will not have an incumbent running.

CNN's Harry Enten is running the numbers on this.

Set the landscape for these races, what we're looking at, because, obviously, when it comes to policy and people's lives, governors have a whole lot to do with it.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, governors have a whole lot of power. And there's all this talk of a Democratic wave. But the gubernatorial races nationwide should stand as a wakeup call for Democrats, a wakeup call for Democrats. Because take a look here, the race raiders, governors post 2026 election, at least tilting to the Republicans. Look at this, a majority, a majority, 26. That is, at this point, the number of governors that are expected, at least tilting towards the Republican Party at this point. Democrats come in at just 20. The rest of the races are tossup. Of course, you sum up to 50.

And I will note that the Republicans right now hold a 26 to 24 gubernatorial seat advantage. So, at this point, it doesn't look like Republicans on the net, in the aggregate, are actually going to lose any governorships. In fact, when you add in those toss ups, they may gain. So, this should stand as a major wake up call to Democrats, because if there's a will, weight (ph) building, it has not, at least at this point, hit the state level when it comes to governorships.

BOLDUAN: And add to that, you point out that when it comes to governors races, Democrats have had -- had a bit of a problem over recent years.

ENTEN: Yes, they have had a big problem recently. If you go back the last time, the last time that Democrats held a majority of governorships was all the way back in 2010. And that streak is expected to continue.

And I will note, I went all the way back through the record books, Kate Bolduan. I went all the way back through the record books. This is now the longest streak in which Democrats did not hold a majority of governorships in at least a century. In at least a century. This is a massive problem for Democrats because, as we mentioned at the top, a lot of the policy is determined on the state level. And if all of a sudden you can't actually lead a majority of governorships, the executive branch at the state level, that means Republicans are, in fact, forming and implementing most of the policies in the states. And therefore a lot of the policies nationwide.

BOLDUAN: Well, and the power of the governor also has to do with how the state legislature looks. What are you seeing here?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, so it's not just the governorships. How about those state legislatures, right?

OK, take a look here, Republicans have held a majority of state legislatures since 2012. And again, this is the longest such streak dating back at least a century in which Republicans have held the majority of state legislatures. In fact, for much of the 20th century, what you saw was Democrats actually held more state legislatures than Republicans did. And now it is the exact opposite. And if you go state legislature by state legislature, at this point it seems likely, of course still uncertain since we have a number of months until November elections, that Republicans will continue the streak of holding the majority of state legislatures, continue their streak of holding the majority of governorships, and, therefore, Democrats will be locked out of holding a power in positions that really do determine a lot, a lot of the policy nationwide.

As I said, this should stand as a wakeup call for Democrats because, at this point, Republicans look like they're going to continue to hold the majority of governorships nationwide.

BOLDUAN: A very -- a very interesting look at this.

It's good to see you, Harry. Thanks.

ENTEN: Nice to see you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning, New Mexico's House of Representatives has approved the creation of a bipartisan special committee to investigate a ranch owned by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

[08:40:06]

The Truth Commission, as it's called, will look into allegations of criminal activity on the property known as Zorro Ranch.

With us now is Marianna Anaya, a Democrat in the New Mexico State House and one of the bills' co-sponsors. Representative, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

So, explain to us what this committee will be looking into.

MARIANNA ANAYA (D), NEW MEXICO STATE HOUSE: Great. Good morning. Thank you so much for having me.

You know, the first thing I want to do is actually thank the survivors, because if they wouldn't have come forward, this commission may not exist.

So, a little bit about the commission itself. It will have both investigatory power and subpoena power to look into what happened at Zorro Ranch.

BERMAN: What can this commission do that would ever (ph) federal investigations have been going on either can't or have not done?

ANAYA: Yes.

So, Representative Romero (ph) and I, we actually grew up in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas. And as we have become state reps. we actually realized that there was never a full investigation that was done at Zorro Ranch. And as I'm sure you've seen, properties were seized, other Epstein properties were seized. But here in New Mexico, things were a little bit different. There was not a full investigation done. And, you know, as you're growing up, you assume that the state is taking care of it. And now that we are in positions of power, as you know with great power comes great responsibility, and we'd like to do survivors justice.

BERMAN: You know, one of the things you said is that you're prepared to hold the state accountable here. What do you mean by that? What does that look like?

ANAYA: Yes. So, I think a lot of what's been focused on so far is one perpetrator, right? Maybe two perpetrators, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. But I think it's really important to talk about the fact that there were enablers, right? There were people who, across the state, who knew what was going on. Rep. Romero (ph) actually accounts for talking to family members and people in the Santa Fe area and people in the Stanley, New Mexico, area. Our families here in New Mexico have been here for a really long time, and there were whispers. People knew what was going on. And in that, in that vein, the fact that there was never a full investigation done means that some balls got dropped. And so, in addition to individuals being held accountable, the state as well. We are going to look into that.

BERMAN: So, in the most recent drop of Epstein files, there is this 2019 email that resurfaced that alleged criminal activity near this Zorro Ranch. The email read, "somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro, two foreign girls were buried on orders of Jeffrey and Madam G? Both died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex."

Again, we know that there are, you know, thousands and thousands and thousands of communications in these files. Some substantiated. Some not. But that one is obviously glaring and alarming on its face. Is that something you're going to be looking into?

ANAYA: You know, that email in particular has really stuck with me and a lot of my colleagues here. And, absolutely. You know, I think one of the dangers was that many of these reports weren't taken seriously in the first place. You know, I think if we would have listened to survivors all those years ago, we may not be in the same position that we're in today.

BERMAN: All right, Representative Marianna Anaya, thank you so much for your time. This investigation, a new one, getting underway.

This morning, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg heads to court to testify in a landmark trial about social media addiction. What we are learning about what he is prepared to say.

And police say a man tried to a toddler right out of her mother's hands.

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[08:48:36]

BOLDUAN: This morning, talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Geneva wrapped after just two hours. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy now accusing Russia of intentionally, quote, "dragging out the negotiations." Also in a new interview with Barak Ravid of "Axios," Zelenskyy is really laying it out there, in part blasting Putin's new key negotiator in these talks, accusing him of focusing more on wanting to philosophize about the, quote, "historical roots" of the war instead of ending the war. Zelenskyy putting it this way to "Axios," "we don't have time for all this shit. So we have to decide, and have to finish the war."

With me now is CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid, the global affairs correspondent for "Axios."

Fascinating and wide ranging interview, long interview you had with Zelenskyy here at a really critical moment, Barak. What -- tell me more about the interview and what your sense was from this conversation with the president of Ukraine.

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good morning, Kate.

I spoke to President Zelenskyy for almost 40 minutes over the phone. And the interview took place while his negotiators were in Geneva, meeting with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and with the Russian negotiations team.

[08:49:50]

And I think that the main issue that President Zelenskyy wanted to make, wanted to talk about was his concern that the change in the Russian negotiation team, President Putin bringing back his close advisor, Vladimir Medinsky, to head this negotiation team was, at least President Zelenskyy thought was pretty bad news, especially because the Ukrainians have history with this guy. And in previous negotiation rounds, he mostly parroted Putin's talking points on the historical background of why Ukraine was illegitimate and why Zelenskyy was illegitimate. And I think the Ukrainians saw it as very bad news. And by the way, in the talks yesterday evening, there were talks in a military group and a political group. The military group actually made a lot of progress, a lot of progress. They're very close to basically getting an agreement on how to monitor a potential ceasefire. On the political working group, where Medinsky was leading the talks on the Russian side, nothing was achieved. It was basically no progress at all. And I think this is the key issue because the main compromise is right now are political and not military.

BOLDUAN: You also wrote about the interview that Zelenskyy had said -- that Zelenskyy said it was not fair that President Trump kept publicly calling on Ukraine, not Russia, to make concessions for peace. Did you sense renewed or real frustration with President Trump in all of this from Zelenskyy?

RAVID: So, obviously, Zelenskyy's frustrated. He made it clear. But he doesn't want to start a fight with Trump. And he made it clear that he also thanks him for a lot of things. But at the same time, he's not sure whether when Donald Trump says again and again and again that its Zelenskyy that needs to come to the table, as if Vladimir Putin has been sitting at the table for four years waiting for Vladimir Zelenskyy to come. So, he doesn't know if this is just a tactic by Trump to try and, you know, make both sides -- press both sides, or whether that's it, he just -- Trump decided that all the onus is on Ukraine to make concessions and that's it. He's not sure which one it is. He hopes it's a tactic and not a -- not a decision.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

You also have new reporting out just this morning on the U.S. talks with Iran over its nuclear program. I'll read for everyone what you write, in part, "the Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon."

Barak, what are you picking up on this?

RAVID: I think Donald Trump is very close to giving the order to launch a massive attack against Iran. And this, when I think that after the very successful operation in Venezuela to snatch Nicolas Maduro, that was really one of the most successful military operations I think in history, a lot of Americans think about Iran in the same way. OK, there will be some commando operation. We'll do something surgical. This is not going to be Venezuela. This is going to be a major military operation, a major war that will include a multi-week campaign. The amount of U.S. forces in the region now, the military, the U.S. military buildup is very, very significant. Just over the last 24 hours, more than 50 U.S. fighter jets moved to the region. Just in 24 hours. F-35s, F-22s, F-16s. This is a major deployment. There are two aircraft carriers in the region. One is supposed to get there in a few days. Multiple air defense systems in the region. The most sophisticated ones.

So, I think -- and, on the other hand, there is no evidence whatsoever that diplomacy is moving anywhere.

BOLDUAN: Right.

RAVID: And that a deal with Iran is close. That's why when you put those two together, on the one hand, huge military buildup, on the other hand no real progress in diplomacy. And when, above all that, is Donald Trump's own remarks, that if diplomacy doesn't work he'll take military action. We just heard the vice president saying this yesterday.

So, when you add all of this together, and when I add it to what I hear from multiple sources, I think we are much closer than people realize to a massive U.S. military strike in Iran that could lead to a major war in the Middle East.

[08:55:07]

BOLDUAN: Yes, And I think even calling it a strike, right, is not doing it justice because it -- I wonder then if they appreciate that --

RAVID: No doubt. Yes.

BOLDUAN: It is not -- you -- they're not going to accomplish anything with the strike. And how far and how long this would have to be in order to be successful. Also, not to forget how this began, which was supposedly Donald Trump's offer to anti-government protesters that help was on the way if Iran would kill any protesters, which we now know from human rights groups very clearly was happening.

RAVID: Yes. And, by the way, to Donald Trump's credit, he was ready to go for it when the protests were taking place. The problem was that the Pentagon and the U.S. military were just not ready. They were -- most of the U.S. assets were in the -- in the -- in the Caribbean. Others were in the Pacific. The U.S. did not have enough forces in the region. And that led to the fact that the U.S. just missed its window.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

Barak, great reporting, as always. Thanks so much for jumping on to bring it to us. I really appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, heavy winds and dry ground combined to create a fire tornado or what some people call a firenado in Oklahoma. Parts of five states in the plains face the highest threat of fire weather conditions. And the wind is ferocious, triggering -- it triggered a 30-car pileup in Colorado after it whipped up dust and dirt, causing brownout conditions. At least four people died in the wrecks.

New video of an SUV crashing outside a preschool in New Jersey. The surveillance video shows a woman and her two children leaving the school. They were hit. They were treated for injuries. That's according to our affiliate. The woman says another parent picking up a child was driving the car. Surveillance video from inside a grocery store in Italy shows a man trying to grab a one-year-old girl right out of her mother's hands. That mother refused to let the child go, holding on, as bystanders ran to help. The man was arrested and charged with attempted aggravated kidnaping. The little girl's femur was fractured during that struggle.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: John, thanks so much for that.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking the stand today in what is a landmark social media trial. The lawsuit was brought by a 20-year-old woman and her mother, accusing Meta and YouTube of intentionally developing features that hook young people and harm their mental health. This is the first of more than 1,500 similar lawsuits to go on trial.

CNN's Clare Duffy watching this very closely. She's back with us.

So, set the stage for us on what could be a really big day as Zuckerberg will take the stand.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS TECH REPORTER: This is a huge moment in this trial. It's actually the first time that Mark Zuckerberg will be testifying before a jury about these really years old claims that the platforms have harmed young users. And how he performs in front of the jury is going to be really important. How trustworthy and likable do they think he is?

Now, we expect that he'll be asked questions that try to get at the reasonableness of the actions that Meta has taken to protect young users. They've talked throughout the trial about their safety features, like parental oversight tools, default privacy restrictions and content restrictions for teen users. And so he's going to be asked about what the company knew about the risks to young users, and whether those features and those efforts were enough to mitigate those risks.

Now, Meta has argued that this 20 year old woman, Kaley, experienced mental health challenges because she had a difficult childhood and not because of Instagram and social media. A Meta spokesperson ahead of this trial telling me that, "the question for the jury in Los Angeles is whether Instagram was a substantial factor in the plaintiff's mental health struggles. The evidence will show that she faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media."

But, of course, Zuckerberg is going to face tough questions today about whether this company put profits ahead of safety.

BOLDUAN: And as we mentioned, this is the first of many lawsuits on this very same topic, an issue, an accusation that the company is -- that the company is facing. And some of these people are going to be in this courtroom.

DUFFY: Yes, this is going to be a huge moment for the parents who for years have been calling on these companies to do more. And what's really interesting is that some of the parents that are hoping to get a seat in this courtroom today were actually also in the audience back in 2024 on Capitol Hill when Mark Zuckerberg turned around and faced parents and apologized for the harms that they say their children have faced on social media.

I spoke with one of those moms, Joann Bogard, who became an advocate on this issue after her 15-year-old son, Mason, died trying to replicate an online challenge video that he saw on YouTube. She told me, "we're all doing our best as parents, but we are fighting these trillion dollar companies." She and other parents now hoping that this trial is going to lead to more change from these platforms.

And, of course, much is going to depend on how the jury perceives Zuckerberg's testimony today.

[09:00:01]

BOLDUAN: Which is why the outcome of this case and how this testimony goes is so fascinating, important, and will be closely watched.

Clare, thank you for this.