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FBI: Glove Found Near Nancy Guthrie's Home Contains DNA; DHS Shutdown Enters Day Two As Paychecks Stall For Thousands; DOJ Letter Lists Reasons Why Epstein Files Have Been Heavily Redacted. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 15, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: That was less than one second away from gold to put in to perspective just how close these races are.

But she still has a chance to medal at these Games. She will be competing in the slalom in the days to come. That is her best event.

Now Fredricka, just a bit ago, I had the privilege of interviewing someone who happens to be a five-time Olympian, seven-time medalist and who also just happens to be the first ever female International Olympics Committee president, Kirsty Coventry. She knows all about these Games and how much it means to the athletes. A lot of pressure, too, right. We have seen Team USA figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin last night failed to medal in his individual competition, saying there's nothing like this Olympic stage. The all-time -- so she talked to us about what is it about these Games, these five rings that brings an unimaginable amount of pressure to these athletes? Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRSTY COVENTRY, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPICS COMMITTEE: Coming to the Olympics, representing your country, knowing that only a few people have done this ever. There's just something special about it and there is something unique about it, and I think, it is also the platform that it allows for there to be the focus just on sport.

It doesn't matter where you come from or the nation that you are representing, you just -- you all kind of know how hard it has been to get there. And you respect that and that I think is the magic of the games.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: And that same sentiment is true for the fans from around the world who are coming to these Olympic Games in Cortina, Fredricka.

You have people from all over countries, different languages, faces, places, and they just respect one another. They are enjoying celebrating the sports they love. I had some guy come up to me today and said, I like your haircut. I like -- he was bald, just like me.

So, the power of sports, bringing people together, Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's so great! It is the ultimate equalizer in many ways, isn't it? Oh, it is unique and special, too.

All right, Coy Wire, should I say arrivederci or ciao?

WIRE: Arrivederci!

WHITFIELD: Okay.

[15:02:13]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I am Fredricka Whitfield, and we begin this hour with new developments in the intensifying search for 84- year-old Nancy Guthrie as it enters its third week.

The FBI says a glove found two miles from her home appears to match the glove of the man seen in doorbell footage outside her house the morning that she vanished. Officials say that glove does not have DNA on it, and they are waiting on final results of forensic testing.

Investigators have not yet named a suspect, though they are sharing details about the person seen on that doorbell cam.

Here is what we know so far. They are looking for a male with an average build between five-foot-nine and five-foot-ten inches tall. He was wearing dark clothes, black gloves, and a black Ozark Trail Hiker backpack.

CNN correspondent, Ivan Rodriguez is joining us now from Tucson with the latest.

Ivan, what more is the FBI saying about this new possible piece of evidence?

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, good afternoon. Yes, it is a significant update in terms of the glove. The FBI says, as you mentioned, that one of those gloves recovered near Nancy Guthrie's home appears to visually match one of the gloves seen worn by a suspect on that doorbell camera footage from Nancy Guthrie's front door.

The FBI says that that DNA is currently being analyzed to determine the identity of a possible suspect, and that results typically take 24 hours. Now, one of the first steps for investigators, when they do have that evidence is to run it through a criminal database, to see if a known criminal matches that DNA from this glove. Investigators would also submit that evidence to third party DNA mapping services.

Now, even though the possible suspect might not have used those services, perhaps a family member might have used them, and then they can use the DNA profile from family members to, again try to identify that suspect.

Now, beyond DNA testing, if this glove is said to be that of the possible suspect seen again on that doorbell camera, it could really help in terms of mapping. Investigators could then directly locate where that glove was found and then create a route as to which direction this person abducted Nancy Guthrie in which way they went. So, that is another key impact here that we could see in terms of the investigation.

Now another important factor here continues to be tips. We know thousands of tips are coming in to the Sheriff's Department, and hear what one former police captain has to say about the importance of the public in this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH SCHIRARD, FORMER POLICE CAPTAIN, GALVESTON, TEXAS: Over 20 years of law enforcement, the most powerful tool I had was my community and being able to leverage them to help search, to help us put some of these puzzle pieces together.

So, if they can go out there and do that, if they can provide the public with more insights and perspective to get them thinking, then that's great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:11]

RODRIGUEZ: Now, in terms of the Guthrie family, tomorrow will mark one week since we heard from Savannah Guthrie directly in that video that she posted by herself asking for the public's help. We have seen Savannah post other videos like the FBI released surveillance pictures, as well as a tribute with home videos of her mom.

But again, we haven't heard -- tomorrow will be one week since we have heard from the family in general and in terms of press conferences, the Sheriff's Department, Fred, has said that no press conferences for now are scheduled today. And again, it has been several, several days since we've heard from them publicly as well.

WHITFIELD: It is so agonizing for everyone involved.

Ivan Rodriguez in Tucson, thanks so much.

I want to bring in now Jeffrey Halstead for more perspective. He is a former Fort Worth Police Chief and the former Homeland Security Commander with the Phoenix Police.

Great to see you, Chief.

So how critical, you know, could any DNA on that glove that was located in a possible match up, which it hasn't been matched up yet, but if there is a match up to the person seen on that doorbell camera, how critical might this be?

JEFFREY HALSTEAD, FORMER FORT WORTH POLICE CHIEF: Thank you for having me on your show. These are very, very strong and definitive updates. Now, it depends on what type of DNA; however, they are all -- even if it is a smaller touch DNA, they are all very, very relevant tying back to the exact glove, if that's what they have to the person on the stoop that was taking the doorbell. So, these are all connecting and tracing back to a centralized suspect.

And then as the leads comes in and the stronger leads are being evaluated and surveilled and then closed in on, this is a great progress. Really, really proud of those investigators in getting this out to our media partners.

WHITFIELD: So, while they are looking for -- waiting for any kind of verification of DNA material on that glove, is it your suspicion that the location where that glove was located, they are probably canvasing in a much more intense way, just in case there might be other details that could be in that same vicinity?

HALSTEAD: That's a great point, and you're exactly right. What they're going to do is take that central point of the location of the evidence retrieval, and then they are going to start circling or spiraling back, and then intensifying that localized search around that single piece, which is now connected.

I would imagine there is going to be a few more relevant items within the next 24 hours that is going to escalate the importance of not just that first piece of evidence that was recovered and tied, but also other potential leads they have, either in surveillance or communicating with.

WHITFIELD: Generally how long would it take to try to, you know extrapolate DNA material trying to match it up, whether it be in a criminal database or perhaps even in any number of these, like commercial, you know, DNA databases.

HALSTEAD: It depends on the -- keeping in mind, and I will say in generality, it could be anywhere between 24 and 48 hours, but the elevated perspective and the importance of this investigation has a higher priority than anything else that is either pending and or staging, so they can escalate the processing of this evidence and actually get a faster retrieval.

And the FBI, as well as Pima County Sheriff, they have already alerted all of their lab partners of the relevancy and the importance of the items that they are submitting. They are turning this around as fast as they can.

WHITFIELD: So, as we enter now, a third week of searching for 84-year- old Nancy Guthrie, it continues to be of high importance and interest for anyone involved. And, of course, the members of the community. But I wonder if you'd be able to help us understand what might be happening to the direction of the investigation in week three. Is there a scale back of certain things and a beefing up of other things, you know, tools or approaches to investigations? What would be happening right now? Because it has to be very different from when the search first began.

HALSTEAD: Yes, I think a lot of our viewers can understand, you know, if you see movies or T.V. show when they have a significant lead, literally, it does change the dynamics. Now, the speed of getting all of those resources, investigators, surveillance people and specialists, crime lab techs and things like that, that is very, very fast, probably within minutes.

And then they get the highest priority lead escalated so that there is much more centralized focus of all the resources and the personnel there. It happens very, very fast.

WHITFIELD: How do you assess this investigation so far or, you know what has been learned publicly? Obviously, investigators cant share everything, but I wonder if you have your own assessment about things based on what you know.

[15:10:13]

HALSTEAD: This is -- so 38 years in this profession and now supporting this profession with the technology we provide. This is the most baffling and frustrating investigation, not from the personnel or the investigators by any means, just the nature in which this all transpired in the first 24 to 48 and 72 hours and then transitioning to an extremely high profile abduction and/or even worse, potentially a murder. We don't know yet, but I am just saying, even from the minute it started, it was very, very frustrating just from the outside as well as on the inside.

I give them credit for the focus and the strategic release of their updates. If you remember, that literally turned around this case. So it is very, very challenging. I've never seen one like this in all the crimes I've investigated, commanded, or even seen in the U.S.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chief Jeffrey Halstead, thank you so much for your expertise. Appreciate it.

HALSTEAD: It is my pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right, and now, we are in day two of the partial U.S. government shutdown. More than 270,000 essential workers, including TSA and ICE agents are on the clock, but most are working without a paycheck. Democrats are demanding major reforms to immigration enforcement, but Republicans say the demands go too far and ignore agents' safety.

Today, Trump's border czar told CNN the lapse in funding wont impact the President's immigration crackdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: ICE is going to continue to enforce law across the country. They're already funded.

Now, the ICE officers won't be getting paid but they are getting used to that, it seems like, so no, the immigration mission, the reason why President Trump was elected to be President continues.

We have the most secure border in history of the nation. We've got record numbers of arrests and deportations, that will continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Camila DeChalus is joining us right now.

Camila, where do negotiations stand right now?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fred, in the last few hours, we are hearing more from both Democrats and Republican lawmakers that they want to see this partial government shutdown end, but they are still trying to figure out a deal that they can both agree on to make that happen.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security has come under intense criticism in the last few weeks over the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents and that's why more Democratic lawmakers are calling for reforms around immigration enforcement in exchange for them supporting a spending bill to fund DHS.

Now, we've heard from the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, he told CNN that Democrats are still kind of working on a counterproposal to send back to The White House, but it is notable that I am hearing more from lawmakers saying that more bipartisan talks are underway to try to strike some type of a deal, but those details still haven't really been ironed out yet.

Take a listen to what both sides have to say about what is going on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): ICE and the Border Patrol is funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill up until 2028, and so the only thing they have shut down is the federal agencies that are named, like FEMA and the Coast Guard and TSA. So, they're shutting down thousands of workers for nothing, but a talking point.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): The outcry from Americans has caused The White House to be willing to negotiate with us on reasonable standards of conduct. That's a positive. We need to see that get into statute before we vote on this last piece of federal funding.

This isn't a big government shutdown. It is a hopefully temporary disagreement over the standards of conduct of the officers who operate under the Department of Homeland Security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, Fred, as you see there, both sides are really adamant. Republicans have just said that, you know if this is a lesson that Democrats want to teach them about ICE and just holding the federal agency accountable, that this lapse of funding for DHS is not really impacting them, but Democrats are really remain firm that they want to see more reforms made around immigration enforcement, and that is their number one priority.

But as this partial government shutdown continues, even with the lapse of funding for DHS, that really does mean that critical federal agencies that have nothing to do with immigration enforcement like the Coast Guard, FEMA, and TSA they will also be impacted. And really, the significance of this, it means that hundreds and thousands of federal employees under DHS, they are going to have to stay on the job, and many will go without pay.

So, you see more urgency for lawmakers to get something done, but as we said, both the House and Senate won't return until February 23rd. So, that's a little bit of time underway.

WHITFIELD: Yes. More than a week away.

All right, Camila DeChalus, thank you so much.

All right coming up, the Justice Department lists hundreds of prominent people named in the Epstein files. Why one Congressman says the list is "muddying the waters."

Plus, protests against the Iranian government erupting around the globe as the U.S. prepares for another round of talks with Iranian officials.

And ultra-processed and full of additives, the new concerns about the food you're feeding your infants and toddlers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:19:52]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today, the Justice Department is explaining why some of the Epstein files released have included so many redactions.

In a letter sent to Congress yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi lists why some names, even whole pages have been shielded from public view, specifically mentioning privileged attorney-client communications and documents that show deliberative process as some of the reasons why.

[15:10:19]

But the Republican who led the charge to force the release of the files says he is not satisfied with that explanation and more documents need to be released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I know the DOJ wants to say they are done with this document production. The problem is they've taken down documents before we were able to go over to the DOJ and look at the unredacted versions. They took down some of the most significant documents, two of them involving Virginia Giuffre's case and other things. The picture of Epstein in a room where it has got CIA written on the boxes, that's been taken down.

We want to be able to look at all of these files. They can't keep those documents down after they've already produced them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's discuss more now with former federal prosecutor, Neama Rahmani.

Neama, thank you so much for being here.

I mean, what do you think is going on here?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think that the members of Congress should file a lawsuit to compel the DOJ to produce these documents. We know from Todd Blanche the Epstein files consist of approximately six million pages of documents, and they've only produced about 3.5 million. So, I find it hard to believe that more than two million pages are privileged.

And even when members of Congress have gone to the Department of Justice to review some of the redacted documents, they have found redactions that appear on their face to be excessive and the DOJ has produced unredacted or less redacted versions.

WHITFIELD: And then this letter from the Justice Department also lists hundreds of prominent people that it considers to be "politically exposed" in the Epstein files, including names of presidents, celebrities, business leaders and government officials. But the DOJ didn't give any context or detail as to why the names were included.

And of course, then that too, is drawing a lot of bipartisan pushback. Democrat, Ro Khanna who co-sponsored the bill forcing the release of the files, says the DOJ is muddying the waters. Republican Nancy Mace says the DOJ even left out some names altogether, so you said Congress should file a lawsuit. But in the meantime, what kind of recourse does it have to force DOJ to comply with what the law says?

RAHMANI: Well, Congress can hold hearings. We saw how that went with Pam Bondi last week. It certainly didn't go well and of course, there is always the possibility of impeachment proceedings as well.

I think what the DOJ should do is just comply with the law. And Fred, you and I have talked about this for months now. I don't understand why they are naming the names, let the public decide. Let the American people do their own analysis after you produce -- by you being the Department of Justice -- the entirety of the Epstein files.

Now, of course, obviously some of those individuals named, they have suffered political fallout. They've had to resign positions, many high profile individuals and it is just -- it goes to show how well- connected Jeffrey Epstein was to people all over the world at the highest positions in government and in the private sector.

WHITFIELD: Right. But then all of these inconsistencies only raises more curiosity and then allows people to say, what is being hidden here? What is it that you don't want people to see?

Epstein survivor, Liz Stein told CNN earlier today that she sees this whole release as a starting point, not an ending point. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ STEIN, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: The most recent release of files is definitely not an ending but it is a starting point for us. You know, every page that I've looked at has some kind of investigative lead. So I think that this should be the beginning of an investigation into these crimes, and we haven't seen that yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Do you see this as leading into new investigations?

RAHMANI: Well, I hope so. What the Department of Justice has done is really an insult to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

Now obviously, we don't know if there are other people involved in the sex abuse, but there are a lot of people who believe that there are other rich and powerful men that helped or participated in the sex abuse with Jeffrey Epstein, and the Department of Justice's lack of transparency, it hurts the public trust and it adds fuel to the fire of these conspiracy theories and folks who believe that this is a government cover-up.

So, I think in the interest of transparency and frankly, just following the law, the Department of Justice needs to do better. They haven't finished the job.

WHITFIELD: All right, Neama Rahmani, great to see you. Thanks so much.

RAHMANI: Thanks, Fred. Talk soon.

[15:25:04]

WHITFIELD: All right, a CNN investigation discovered several unredacted videos of young women among the millions of files related to Jeffrey Epstein released by the Justice Department.

CNN's senior national enterprise correspondent, M.J. Lee has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Unredacted videos of young women that CNN has censored here are among the millions of Jeffrey Epstein related files released by the Justice Department. An extensive CNN review of the Epstein files uncovered at least seven videos featuring unredacted women

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, from Deauville.

LEE (voice over): This girl dressed in a bikini and heels, seemingly doing a model walk, says she is just 15 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, my name is (bleep). I'm 15 years old. I'm (INAUDIBLE) centimeters long and I'm from Riga, Latvia.

LEE (voice over): It was only after CNN inquired about them that a DOJ spokesperson said Thursday the videos in question have been removed and are being reviewed for appropriate redactions.

This error message is now in the videos place. One of the videos included brief nudity when a young woman pulls up her shirt to expose her breasts after singing "Happy Birthday."

The publication of these videos risked the potential revictimization of women who may have been abused by Epstein years ago. It was also in violation of the DOJ's stated criteria on what information would be redacted in the Epstein files in order to protect the victims.

TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: To protect victims, we redacted every woman depicted in any image or video with the exception of Miss Maxwell. We did not redact images of any men unless it was impossible to redact the woman without also redacting the man.

LEE (voice over): Like so many other Epstein files, these videos are not accompanied by any information providing context about them, including who these women are, who took the videos, or the date that they were taken.

The DOJ has also faced fierce criticism for other improper redactions in the Epstein files, including publishing victims' names, birthdays and addresses, and the over-redaction of information about individuals who may have helped Epstein.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Your Department of Justice initially released nude photographs and even the identities of Jane Does, who had been protected for decades until your department released their names.

LEE (voice over): Attorney General Pam Bondi was grilled this week by lawmakers in a contentious hearing and vowed that the DOJ was acting quickly to correct any mistakes.

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: If someone's name was redacted, we said right away -- was not redacted and should have been -- meaning a victim. We went back and redacted it. We're doing everything we can based on the tight timeframe and over three million pages that we released that Donald Trump signed for pure transparency.

LEE (voice over): M.J. Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:23]

WHITFIELD: All right, we are getting new details on a seized Venezuela-linked oil tanker. The Pentagon says it stopped and boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean overnight. It said the vessel was targeted because it was in defiance of President Trump's order blocking non- sanctioned oil going in and out of Venezuela.

The ship was tracked all the way from the Caribbean into the Indian Ocean. The Trump administration said it was taking control of Venezuela's oil sales after removing President Nicolas Maduro from power.

All right, sources tell CNN the next round of U.S. nuclear talks with Iran are set to take place in Geneva on Tuesday. The high stakes meeting happening as the drumbeat is growing louder across the world for regime change in Iran. Massive rallies were held Saturday as part of a Global Day of Action called by the exiled son of Iran's last Shah.

In Munich, police say around a quarter of a million people gathered in one of the city's largest demonstrations in recent years. In Toronto, up to 350,000 people gathered in the city['s north end in what authorities described as one of the largest Iran-related demonstrations the city has seen in recent months. And then on to Los Angeles now, home to a large Iranian community, demonstrators carried huge banners showing the former Shah's son and messages like "Help is on the Way."

All right, new today, Ukraine's military says it struck a Russian oil terminal located in the Black Sea. In a statement, officials said a fire broke out after the attack, but it was still assessing the extent of the damage. The attack comes as world leaders wrap up a key gathering on global security.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: High stakes security conference coming to an end here in Munich, Germany of course, one of the highlights was U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his speech in front of the delegates here in Munich. And basically, the folks who are here breathing a sigh of relief after that speech.

On the one hand, the U.S. Secretary of State criticizing America's European allies, but also extending a welcoming hand, saying that the United States wants to continue to be an ally of European nations.

At the same time, the U.S. is trying to move along that negotiations process to try and end the war in Ukraine. The next round of talks is set to happen in Geneva in Switzerland, in the next couple of days involving, of course the U.S., Ukraine and Russia.

Now the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he showed some frustration at the way the talks are going. Here is what he had to say.

[15:35:06]

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The Americans often return to the topic of concessions, and too often, those concessions are discussed in the context only of Ukraine, not Russia.

Europe is practically not present at the table, it is a big mistake to my mind. PLEITGEN: Now, when Zelenskyy speaks about concessions, he first and foremost, of course, means some of those territorial concessions the Ukrainians might have to make as part of any peace agreement. At the same time, another big topic here at the Munich Security Conference is where some bold allegations by five European nations surrounding the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He of course, died in a Russian prison colony under mysterious circumstances, pretty much exactly two years ago.

And the European countries now say they have evidence that he most probably was poisoned. Now, I asked the European Commission's foreign policy chief about all this. Here is what she had to say.

KAJA KALLAS, EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It is not really surprising, isn't it? I mean, he is working like regular dictators are working. I mean, eliminate all the competitors. And, you know keep the power structures and oligarchs happy, and you stay in power, and you can do whatever you want even if you know the people are not pleased.

PLEITGEN: It is a long way to go though, to use dart frog poison, isn't it? That's --

KALLAS: Well --

PLEITGEN: -- on someone who is in a prison colony anyway.

KALLAS: Yes, but I think it also shows how the Russians are thinking. They are exploring new ways to actually use, so this is -- this is the way they operate against their own people, against people in prison.

PLEITGEN: Now, the Russians have since come out and categorically denied those allegations. They call all of the things that are being said around the death of Alexei Navalny and Russia's alleged involvement, a farce.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Munich, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Fred Pleitgen.

All right also at the Munich Security Conference, the Danish Prime Minister warned his European counterparts not to relax on U.S. threats to take over Greenland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER: Everybody asks us, do we think it is over? Is there -- I mean, no, we don't think it is over. We now have a working group. It is good. We will try to see if we can find a solution and you can rely on us, you can trust us. We will do whatever we can.

But of course, there are red lines that will not be crushed and we will -- we will stick to our strategy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Prime Minister also condemned the pressure being put on Greenland and NATO allies over Trump's threats.

All right still ahead, harmful ingredients in the majority of baby nutritional products sold in the U.S. What an alarming new study is revealing about the food that you might be feeding your children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:32]

WHITFIELD: All right, a new study says most baby food sold in U.S. grocery stores are considered ultra-processed. Researchers looked at more than 650 different products, and they found that more than 70 percent contain additives linked to inflammation in the gut microbiome. This was for children between six months and three years. The names and brands of baby foods were not disclosed in the study, which was published in the journal, "Nutrients."

The Consumer Brands Association, which represents manufacturers of baby food, said in a statement to CNN that there is, "... currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods." With us now is Elizabeth Dunford. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina. She is also the first author on the study.

Thanks so much for being with us.

ELIZABETH DUNFORD, ADJUNCT ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NUTRITION, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA: Hi, thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Okay. So, what exactly did you find in this study?

DUNFORD: So you've already summarized the results quite well. But yes, we looked at these 651 baby foods available in U.S. grocery stores and we found that almost three-quarters would be considered ultra- processed. Now, that's using the Nova Classification System of Ultra- Processing. But more importantly, I think we found that 71 percent of these products contained additives and additives, in fact, were the most common ingredient type used in these baby foods.

And I personally found that the most surprising trumping even fruits and vegetables, dairy, nuts, et cetera.

WHITFIELD: Okay. And are most of these additives work in to preserve the food since they're what likely in jars or cans? I mean, is that what constitutes these additives?

DUNFORD: Yes, in some cases, of course. So, we looked at all different types of additives that are allowed to be used in baby foods. We did find, of course, though, that there were many cosmetic additives used.

So, the difference between here and a cosmetic additive is something that's used like a color or a flavor to enhance the appeal and the palatability of a product versus as you mentioned some additives that are of course, essential for safety and food preservation.

So, we did look across the board at all of these things, but we found that a lot of these cosmetic additive classes were very commonly found in these baby food products.

WHITFIELD: So, what are the potential effects on babies based on what you found in this study in these foods?

[15:45:01]

DUNFORD: Well, we know in general that the complementary feeding period. So, this period between six months and 36 months of age is really critical in feeding development for children.

So, the foods that they eat -- the foods that young children are eating during these first three years of life can really shape their dietary preferences later in life. And so the fact that we found, for example, a lot of these foods were not only ultra-processed, but those ultra-processed products had higher levels of salt and sugar. This is really critical from an infant feeding perspective, because if children in this age group are exposed to very sweet and salty foods at this stage of life, we know that that can lead to preferences for those kinds of tastes later in life.

And of course then can lead to the negative health outcomes that come from that.

WHITFIELD: So, is it your hope that baby food makers will use your study to help alter or make some changes in what they are presenting to the general public?

DUNFORD: In some ways, yes. So, some previous research we did using the same data set actually showed that it can be -- there is quite a lot of misleading claims used on these products. I am sure any mother who has been to the grocery store and looked at all of these products, all of them have some kind of claim that there is not one product that does not have a claim on front of it.

And what we really want companies here to do is not to mislead people with both the ingredients and the claim. So, if a product says no added sugar, we would hope that the company is not then just adding a bunch of other additives to sort of supplement that, or indeed using what we call an ultra-processed marker, which is something like a fruit juice concentrate, which is technically not an added sugar, but definitely functions and tastes just like one.

WHITFIELD: And then what are parents to do? Because not everyone is in a position to make all of their food, you know for their babies, their children, you know within this age bracket and feel like they are meeting all of the nutritional needs.

DUNFORD: Look poor moms, you know, I am a mom of two young kids myself. I even found this as an expert in this area, I still to this day, find it difficult to navigate that particular sector of the grocery store. And so all I can say is for parents, do your best. What I like to sort of give as a practical piece of advice is ignore all the noise on the front, right? All of these products have some sort of claim to fame on them. Flip it over and have a look and if you don't recognize one or more of the ingredients on the back of the pack, it is probably not the best choice for your kid.

But if you have no choice but to get one, get the one with the least amount of these sort of unknown ingredients, so to speak and really just do your best. I do understand that these products are very convenient and they are complimentary. They were developed to be complementary, meaning, they are not supposed to be the only foods a baby is exposed to.

And, I think as long as we can keep that in the forefront of people's mind, that these, of course, can be part of a baby's diet, but they shouldn't be the predominant part of a baby's diet.

WHITFIELD: All right, the challenges of being a parent nonstop. That's for sure.

DUNFORD: That is real. Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, all right, Elizabeth Dunford, thank you so much.

DUNFORD: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, former President Barack Obama breaking his silence on the racist A.I. video shared by President Trump that depicted him and his wife, Michelle, as apes. We will tell you what Obama said.

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[15:53:05]

WHITFIELD: All right, now to a comeback story for the ages. And boy, do we always love this. American golfer, Anthony Kim just won the LIV Golf Adelaide Tournament in Australia. It is the 40-year-old's first win in more than 15 years. CNN's Don Riddell is joining me now with this story of inspiration and it is not so simple, right? It is quite the journey.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: This, Fred, is absolutely remarkable because it is not just the fact that he has been away from the game for so long. It is what he was doing while he was away.

So, some of our viewers might remember the name Anthony Kim. He was once ranked sixth in the world. He finished third in the Masters. He was fifth in the Open. But then he just completely disappeared for 12 years, and we now know what he was dealing with during that time. Initially, he had Achilles injury problems, but he then had alcohol and drug abuse problems, which meant he had to get himself into rehab.

But he found a way back into the game with the LIV Tour in 2024 and here he was in Australia earlier today. He teed off on Sunday, five strokes behind Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, two major champions, and somehow he came out on top.

He shot a brilliant round of 63 to win it by three. He won $4 million in the process. And just think of everything -- I mean, he has been to hell and back and to see him do it like this with his family there -- you're about to see his young daughter, Bella run onto the golf course to congratulate him, give her Daddy a big hug, and he was asked afterwards. He was asked afterwards, you know, when she is old enough to understand all of this, how is he going to explain the journey to her? Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY KIM, PROFESSIONAL GOLF PLAYER: Before she came into this world, I didn't feel any purpose in my life. And you know, whether you have a lot of money, whether you have a lot of success in your life, you still can feel lonely and feel like the world is against you and that is in your own mind because I had a lot of people rooting for me. Obviously, you saw it there, how many people were rooting for me.

[15:55:11]

But I just want her to know that no matter bad your day is, if you keep fighting, you never lose. To be able to share this moment, even though Bella won't understand it, one day she will and for her to be able to run on the green and see her dad isn't a loser was one of the most special moments of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

RIDDELL: Isn't that just remarkable?

WHITFIELD: Oh, I felt all of it.

RIDDELL: So open, so raw, so vulnerable. Now, last -- pretty much this time last year, he posted on Instagram what he had been through, and he talked about when he checked himself into rehab. He said his body was shutting down. He could barely walk in there.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh!

RIDDELL: And he talked about the fact that for basically two decades he had had suicidal thoughts. He said he thought about ending his life every day, even when he was on --

WHITFIELD: Rock bottom!

RIDDELL: Even when he was on the PGA Tour, that's how he felt, but while he was in rehab, he really found himself. He found faith, self- respect, purpose, self-love. And now here he is, he is back on top of the game. He is talking about basically just trying to get one percent better every day and that is how he is climbing his way back.

But such a special story.

WHITFIELD: Really, it is. What beautiful lessons that came out of that that are transferable to so many lives.

All right, Don Riddell, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

All right, still to come --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLAVOR FLAV, RAPPER AND T.V. PERSONALITY: Yes! Boy!

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes! Boy!

FLAVOR FLAV: Yes! Coy!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You know who that is? CNN sitting down with sponsor and official hype man of USA's bobsled and skeleton team. The coolest running's rapper, Flavor Flav.

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