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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Trump, Israeli PM Netanyahu To Meet At White House Today; Lutnick Denies Ties With Epstein During Senate Hearing; Starmer To Face Questions In Parliament Amid Backlash. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired February 11, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: And authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department at the number on your screen, 520-351-4900, or contact the FBI.
Still to come, President Trump and the Israeli prime minister are planning to discuss Iran in the coming hours. We'll hear what Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for when we come back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. I'm Rahel Solomon. And here are some of the stories we are watching for you today.
[05:35:00]
CNN affiliate KNXV reports that a person detained for questioning in the Nancy Guthrie case has been released. We've also learned that investigators have completed their search of a property in Rio Rico though, south of Tucson hear the Mexico border. The Pima County Sheriff's Department says that the Guthrie investigation is ongoing without sharing any further details.
Authorities are investigating Canada's deadliest school shooting in decades. At least nine people were fatally shot and dozens more were hurt in British Columbia. Two of those killed were found in a home believed to be tied to the incident. Police say that the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No word yet on a possible motive.
And the Federal Aviation Administration is closing the airspace around El Paso, Texas for the next 10 days. According to the FAA's website it's doing what the agency calls "special security reasons." The El Paso International Airport says that all commercial, cargo and general aviation flights will be grounded until February 20. CNN has reached out to the FAA and the airport for comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Israel's prime minister in the Oval Office in the coming hours and sources tell CNN that Benjamin Netanyahu plans to discuss possible military operations and options against Iran should U.S.-Iran talks collapse. This comes as Iran says that last week's talks with the U.S. were meant to gauge Washington's seriousness about negotiations. President Trump told Axios on Tuesday that he's anticipating a second round of talks with Iran next week.
CNN's Oren Liebermann has more from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Rahel, this is a crucial meeting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he prepares to meet President Donald Trump just a little bit later on today.
Before departing for Washington Netanyahu said he'll discuss a number of issues, including Gaza and other topics. But, of course, the crucial one for Netanyahu here is Iran. Trump has given a number of different messages on what he wants to see as a result from the nascent negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Just a few days ago onboard Air Force One he said he'd be happy with a deal that covers only Iran's nuclear weapons, leaving open the possibility that he'd allow Iran some nuclear enrichment as well as not touch issues like ballistic missiles, support for proxies, and other issues. Then he said he wants to see all of that included, and that is part of the confusion here that Netanyahu may be looking to figure out. What is it that Trump is looking to get out of a deal?
Netanyahu clearly has stated that he wants that include -- that to include all of it. To prevent Iran from enriching uranium, to end Iran's nuclear program once and for all, to end Iran's support for proxies, and to make sure Iran doesn't have ballistic missiles.
Well, Iran has quite clearly stated they're only willing to discuss the nuclear file. After that is settled perhaps they'd be willing to discuss some other issues. But they're taking quite a hard line here on negotiations.
So that's the key question here. What is it that Trump is looking for from these negotiations? Netanyahu clearly wants it to include all of the major topics. Can he convince Trump on all of it? Well, that's what we're looking to find out, out of this meeting set to take place just a little bit later on today.
Meanwhile, Trump told Barak Ravid in an interview that he may even send a second aircraft carrier to the region after he first sent the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group several weeks ago. This as the U.S. has had a massive buildup of forces in the Middle East not only as a way of trying to pressure Iran to make more concessions in negotiations but also ahead of the potential for a U.S. strike here.
Part of what Netanyahu wants to discuss here with Iran -- with Trump during these talks, according to two Israeli sources, is coordination on military options against Iran -- Rahel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Oren, thank you.
President Trump's commerce secretary says he did not have any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but recently released files tell a different story.
We'll be right back.
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[05:43:25]
SOLOMON: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify before Congress in the coming hours. She's expected to face tough questions from lawmakers from the House Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers will likely grill Bondi about the Trump administration's use of federal law enforcement to carry out the president's aggressive push for mass deportation of immigrants, as well as his efforts to seek retribution against his perceived political enemies. We will, of course, follow this story as it develops in the hours ahead.
Meantime, President Trump is back under the microscope in connection to the Epstein files. The Justice Department just released an account of a call between the president and Florida police about Epstein. And Trump has said to have told officers, "Everyone has known he's been doing this."
The White House press secretary cast doubt on whether that call ever happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Karoline, did he call the chief?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, the -- it was a phone call that may or may not have happened in 2006. I don't know the answer to that question. What I'm telling you is that what President Trump has always said is that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club because Jeffrey Epstein was a creep, and that remains true. And this call, if it did happen, corroborates exactly what President Trump has said from the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And millions of Epstein files contradict the commerce secretary's accounts of his dealings with the convicted sex offender. Howard Lutnick told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that he barely had anything to do with that person.
CNN's MJ Lee has more on Lutnick's Capitol Hill testimony.
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HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: I did not have any relationship with him.
[05:45:00]
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): President Trump's commerce secretary Howard Lutnick under intense scrutiny for his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
LUTNICK: Of these millions and millions of documents there may be 10 emails connecting me with him -- probably about 10 emails connecting me with him over a 14-year period.
LEE (voiceover): Testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday Lutnick tried to downplay the numerous times that he and his wife appear in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department.
The cabinet official had also claimed in an interview last year that he had cut off all contact with Epstein, who happened to be his next- door neighbor in New York City, after this disturbing visit to Epstein's townhouse in 2005.
LUTNICK: And he opens the door and there's a massage table in the middle --
MIRANDA DEVINE, HOST, "POD FORCE ONE": Ooh.
LUTNICK: -- of the room.
DEVINE: Ooh.
LUTNICK: And candles all around and stuff. I say to him, "Massage table in the middle of your house?"
DEVINE: (Laughing).
LUTNICK: "How often do you have a massage?" And he says, "Every day." And then, like, gets like weirdly close to me --
DEVINE: Ooh.
LUTNICK: -- and he says, "And the right kind of massage."
My wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.
DEVINE: Oh, really?
LUTNICK: So I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or for even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn't going because he's gross.
LEE (voiceover): But a CNN review of the newly released files tells a different story. Lutnick corresponded with Epstein through intermediaries several times after Epstein pled guilty to procuring prostitution from a minor in 2008.
LUTNICK: She's on the board of The Kennedy Center so I'm here --
LEE (voiceover): In 2012, Lutnick's wife communicated with an Epstein assistant about arranging a visit and lunch on one of Epstein's private islands in the Caribbean.
"Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St. Thomas some over the holidays," Epstein's assistant wrote to Lutnick. "Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together."
The next month Lutnick's wife saying in an email that was forwarded to Epstein, "We are looking forward to visiting you." She even inquired about the best place to dock their 188-foot yacht. "Where should we anchor exactly?"
Lutnick confirming Tuesday that he did visit Epstein's infamous island where Epstein was accused of transporting underage girls for sex work.
LUTNICK: My wife was with me as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple with -- they were there as well with their children. And we had lunch on the island -- that is true -- for an hour and we left with all of my children, with my nannies, and my wife all together. I don't -- I don't recall why we did it.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): And you realize that, you know, this visit took place after he had been convicted, right?
LEE (voiceover): The files show numerous other correspondence several years after Epstein was convicted for procuring a child for prostitution.
Epstein's assistant telling Epstein in 2011 "Howard Lutnick returned your call." In another email, an assistant writing, "Howard Lutnick will come see you at 5:00 p.m." Meanwhile, the heading of a reminder message reads, "Drinks with Howard Lutnick."
Lutnick and Epstein also appeared to have invested together in an advertising analytics firm in 2013, according to a contract found in the Epstein files.
The revelation of Lutnick's additional contacts with Epstein fueling outrage and calls for the secretary's resignation.
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): He should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign. If this were Great Britain he'd already be gone.
LEE: Now in terms of the potential political fallout for Lutnick, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying on Tuesday that President Trump fully supports Lutnick and that he remains an important member of the Trump administration.
MJ Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: In the coming hours, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will take questions from members of Parliament, and it comes as some lawmakers are calling for his resignation amid fallout from the recent Epstein file releases.
Let's get to Salma Abdelaziz who joins us live this morning from London. Salma, Starmer continues to face this mounting pressure to step down. What's the latest here?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is set to face a grilling in PMQ's Parliament questions today and this, of course, comes after his near political death experience over the last few days. He's had calls within his own party for his resignation. He's lost his closest aide and chief of staff. He's lost his director of communications all in a scandal around the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson to British ambassador to the United States.
There are, of course, now many, many questions about Mr. Mandelson. He is the source of a police investigation. Those leaked documents, those leaked Epstein files show a much closer relationship and show that he may potentially have been taking payments from Epstein and may have even passed him government secrets. That's part of this police investigation.
[05:50:00]
Now, Mr. Mandelson has denied all wrongdoing, but it is Prime Minister Keir Starmer who is going to be facing the questions today.
There's a few things to watch out for here, Rahel.
First of all, does he continue to have his party's support? He has done everything he can to shore up that support in the last few days and that's going to be visible to the public today.
Second, will he express true apology, true sympathy, and true sorrow for the hiring of Lord Mandelson? He has done that in the past. He has apologized. He has insisted that he is still the man for the job.
And he's also said, Rahel, that steps will be taken to improve the vetting process, so that's the other thing to watch out for here. Will he introduce some concrete steps that can prevent something like this Mandelson scandal from happening again?
And finally, he may be asked about those growing calls in the United States for Lord Mandelson to testify in the U.S. Congress. He does not have the power to make him do that, but he may very well be asked about the British government's position on the matter.
SOLOMON: Hmm, OK.
Salma Abdelaziz in London for us. Salma, thank you.
Still ahead, as authorities release new footage in the Nancy Guthrie investigation, we'll take a closer look at other high-profile cases where critical images played a key role.
We'll be right back.
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[05:55:40]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. The release of key images is often crucial to solving major criminal cases and officials in Arizona are hoping for the same result in the Nancy Guthrie case.
CNN's Brian Todd has more.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): April 2013. In the harrowing days right after the Boston Marathon bombing, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was working the case, says investigators were at a dead end and debated internally whether or not to release images they had of the suspects. They decided they had no choice but to release them to the public.
ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FBI: You always want to work silently and quietly if you can, but the fact was we were at an endpoint. There was no -- there were no other leads to pursue. And I think that's very telling for what you're seeing in this case.
TODD (voiceover): The release of those images led to a flood of tips from the public. Law enforcement was then able to track two brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, to a Boston suburb. Tamerlan died following a standoff with police. His younger brother was captured hours later.
September of last year. Moments after the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University, surveillance footage showed a man getting off a roof of a nearby building.
STEVE MOORE, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: And then to have somebody getting down off that -- off that roof with a -- with something that could be a weapon -- again, it's not just helping the case, it's breaking the case.
TODD (voiceover): Those images were seen by a Utah man whose instincts told him the person in the black t-shirt and sunglasses was his son. He confronted his son and convinced him to turn himself in.
December 2024. Following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, it wasn't just the video of suspect Luigi Mangione lowering his mask to flirt with a woman in the nearby hostel that got him caught; it was a series of videos seemingly tracing his every move.
MOORE: The thing that got me -- the thing that really told me that the world had changed is when they were able to trace him to and from the shooting scene -- I mean, blocks, block, and blocks -- simply by following him on cameras along the route.
TODD (voiceover): Five days after the shooting, the manager of a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania called to report a suspicious customer, saying other customers there recognized the man's eyes and eyebrows from the surveillance images. Mangione was then captured. TODD: Retired FBI agent Steve Moore says with the release of those images in the Guthrie case the person seen in those images could now be rattled. That, in and of itself, he says could help investigators because as more tips now come in stemming from those images, the person could alter their behavior and make a mistake.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Authorities continue to ask anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department at the number on your screen, 520-351-4900, or contact the FBI.
Two men have been arrested after a dramatic and frightening armored truck heist on an Italian highway. Police say that at least six people took part in the operation using explosives to blow open the back of the truck. The robbers didn't get away with much money because of an automated system that locked down the cash in the vehicle. After a high-speed chase police exchanged gunshots with the gang and at least one officer was injured. Authorities are still searching for the other accomplices.
And back here in the U.S. a group of Buddhist monks are wrapping up their months long Walk for Peace across the country. They arrived in Washington on Tuesday 108 days after starting their journey in Fort Worth, Texas. The monks say that they embarked on the journey to promote peace and unity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let peace bloom and flourish among all of us throughout this nation and the world so that this world can become a better place for all beings to live.
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SOLOMON: The 2,300-mile walk hasn't been easy. One monk -- one monk lost his leg after a driver crashed into their caravan in Texas. And a dog who is walking with the group needed knee surgery in South Carolina.
[06:00:00]
The Walk for Peace will officially conclude with a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in the coming hours.
OK. Thanks for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
