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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Search For Clues Near Nancy Guthrie's Home; Pam Bondi's Fiery Testimony; Heartbreak And Loss Grips Canada Community. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired February 12, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:23]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Thursday, February 12, 5:00 a.m. here in New York.
And straight ahead on EARLY START.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Agents have been searching again the area around Nancy Guthrie's house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Terrain is unbelievably hard to search.
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In her first appearance before lawmakers, Attorney General Pam Bondi played to an audience of one.
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: He is the most transparent president in the nation's history.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New details about a deadly mass shooting in a small, tight knit community in Tumbler Ridge, Canada.
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
SOLOMON: Investigators in Arizona continue to search the area around Nancy Guthrie's home, looking for any new evidence in her disappearance. On Wednesday, a "New York Post" reporter told CNN of a potential clue, a black glove found about a mile and a half from Guthrie's home. It's unclear if authorities believe that it's the same glove worn by the person in that door camera video released by the FBI the night that Guthrie disappeared.
That person was also seen wearing this backpack. We're told that investigators are trying to figure out what type of bag it is. Meanwhile, TMZ says it received what it called a bizarre letter from someone claiming to know who Guthrie's kidnaper is and demanding a single bitcoin, which is currently worth about $67,000, in exchange for that information.
CNN's Nick Watt is following all these developments and has more from Tucson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Agents have been searching again. The area around Nancy Guthrie's house, which is where I'm standing now they have been walking along roads, looking in the undergrowth, looking in the arroyos, trying to find basically anything that was discarded by that suspect.
Now, "The New York Post" reports that investigators did find a black glove lying by the side of a road. That will, of course, be analyzed to find any trace of a person on that, any DNA, anything that would help investigators.
Investigators have also been back at Guthrie's house near there. Annie Guthrie is, of course Nancy's daughter. We spoke to one neighbor who said that the FBI came around about a week ago just canvassing. They came back and asked to look on the back of this guy's property, right where it butts up against Annie Guthrie.
So basically, since that video came out, they have redoubled their efforts trying to find anything that might have been discarded by that suspect as the suspect was leaving. They have had many, many calls, about 4,000 calls just in a day tip -- to the tip line. One of those calls led to a man being detained and then later released, but they are still appealing for more help.
This video and the public could end up being the key to cracking this case.
Nick Watt, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And a former police detective spoke with CNN about the Guthrie case and explain why the person in that doorbell camera video may have made a crucial mistake with the mask that they wore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE MCCUTCHEON, FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE: They're not wearing a face covering over their mouth. And as I just said, every contact leaves a trace. And now, if he's in a struggle with somebody who's in the house, you know, with the victim here, if he's in there struggling, it is possible that he could be leaving DNA evidence behind.
Now, DNA evidence you know, may not be at the level where just me talking is leaving DNA evidence behind. But if you are a professional, you would want to cover that just in case you get hit in the mouth. You have to, you know, you end up spitting or have some of your own blood. You know, coming from your mouth, you cough, you anything like that, I would cover it.
So, yes, they're wearing a mask, but having that mouth open, I think is an error.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: U.S. lawmakers are facing a Friday deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security negotiations. Negotiations with the White House are underway, but Republicans are urging President Trump to play hardball with Democrats. They're pushing for changes within the department after federal agents shot and killed U.S. citizens last month while cracking down on immigration. Demands from the Democrats include reining in roving patrols and requiring federal officers to use body cameras.
[05:05:06]
Attorney General Pam Bondi is defending the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files. She was on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a House Judiciary Committee hearing that quickly went off the rails.
CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: This guy has Trump derangement syndrome.
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In her first appearance before House lawmakers, Attorney General Pam Bondi played to an audience of one.
BONDI: He is the most transparent president in the nation's history, and none of them, none of them ask Merrick Garland over the last four years, one word about Jeffrey Epstein. How ironic is that? You know why?
REID (voice-over): Lawmakers repeatedly pressed her on the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files and the impact on survivors.
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Will you turn to them now? And apologize for what your Department of Justice has put them through with the un -- absolutely unacceptable release of the Epstein files and their information?
BONDI: Congresswoman, you sat before -- Merrick Garland sat in this chair twice.
JAYAPAL: Attorney General Bondi --
BONDI: Can I finish my answer?
JAYAPAL: No. I'm going to reclaim my time because I asked you --
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): The attorney general can answer --
JAYAPAL: -- a specific question --
JORDAN: The attorney general can respond to your question.
JAYAPAL: -- that I would like to answer, which is will you turn to the survivors?
REID (voice-over): Republican Thomas Massie grilled her on redaction mistakes that he says exposed survivors and protected perpetrators
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): These are the documents that we need that you're holding on to and over redacting because they have the names of the men who are implicated. How do we know? Because the survivors gave testimony to the FBI.
REID (voice-over): But Bondi came armed with personalized insults for any lawmaker that pressed her on an issue she did not want to discuss.
RASKIN: I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started.
BONDI: Don't tell me --
RASKIN: Oh, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate
BONDI: -- lawyer. Not even a lawyer.
REID (voice-over): And the hearing swiftly devolved into a series of shouting matches.
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): How many have you indicted?
BONDI: Excuse me? I'm going to answer the question.
NADLER: Answer my question.
BONDI: No, I'm going to answer the question the way I want to answer the question. Your theatrics are ridiculous.
NADLER: No, you can answer the question the way I asked it.
BONDI: Chairman Jordan, I'm not going to get in the gutter with these people.
REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): I believe you just lied under oath. There is ample evidence in the Epstein --
BONDI: Don't you ever accuse me of a crime.
LIEU: I believe --
BONDI: If they could maintain their composure. This isn't a circus. This is a hearing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
REID: Now despite that theatrics, there was one area where they were able to reach a bipartisan consensus. And that was on threats against lawmakers. The attorney general said she would be willing to work across the aisle with lawmakers on that issue.
Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
SOLOMON: President Trump says that he's making it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will keep pursuing diplomacy with Iran. The two leaders met in the White House on Wednesday to discuss the issue as Israel remains skeptical that the talks will work. President Trump said that the U.S. had very good talks with Iran after delegations from both countries participated in indirect discussions in Oman last week.
But he also posted Wednesday that nothing definitive had been reached and the two countries had agreed to keep talking. Ukraine is reporting power and heat outages across the country following a barrage of Russian strikes overnight.
Ukrainian minister says that some 2600 residential buildings in Kyiv have lost heat. That's on top of more than 1,000 other buildings where heat has been out because of earlier strikes while some 300,000 people in Odesa are without water because of power outages caused by the strikes and that's happening as Ukraine continues to deal with one of its worst winters in years.
Turning now to Brussels where a meeting of NATO defense ministers is underway right now. Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke earlier, and the British and German defense chiefs will be co-chairing a meeting of the Ukraine defense group in the coming hours. But there is one notable no show, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
So, let's get more now from Clare Sebastian, who is monitoring these developments and joins us live this morning from London.
So, Clare, let's start with what we've heard so far from Russia. What's standing out to you?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Rahel, Look, I think what were seeing still despite the absence of secretary of defense, secretary of war, now he's called Pete Hegseth is the ongoing shift in NATO a fundamental shift over the past year since we saw Hegseth turn up at the same defense ministers meeting last February and deliver what really turned out to be a reality check for NATO members, he declared that Ukraine should not expect NATO membership and should not expect a return to its pre-2014 borders as part of any negotiated settlement.
So, look, NATO's response under Mark Rutte was number one to really try to step up European and Canadian defense. This led to the 5 percent defense spending target that was agreed last summer.
And number two, to really in a sort of now double mission, do everything possible to keep the U.S. engaged and involved, albeit in a different way. And we see that again this morning Rutte coming out and praising the U.S. he said, for putting every pressure on Russia, a statement that I think somewhat glosses over some of the U.S. engagement with Russia. But look, Secretary Hegseth is not there. The undersecretary for
policy, Elbridge Colby, is. And he delivered what I think this year will feel to NATO members like a more positive message. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELBRIDGE COLBY, U.S. UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY: And I think we have a really strong basis for working together in partnership. But putting NATO kind of a 3.0 NATO that's based a partnership rather than dependency and really a return to what NATO was originally intended for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: NATO 3.0 is a term that other leaders within the alliance have used to refer to this NATO, where Europe and Canada shoulder more responsibility. Obviously, the U.S. has been the biggest contributor for many years now. So, look, I think that is a positive note perhaps for European leaders.
But again, we see with the fact, for example, that Arctic security is high on the agenda as well. NATO alliance launched its new mission in the Arctic called Arctic Sentry, which seems to sort of just bring together existing exercises under this main NATO umbrella, that all of this, again, is part of this now sort of unofficial double mission. On the one hand, keeping up the deterrence against Russia, but on the other hand, really making every effort to do what the U.S cares about to keep Trump onside. And of course, we've seen the risks of not doing that with the Greenland issue and how that spilled over last month, Rahel.
SOLOMON: And, Clare, just bringing it back to the Ukraine of it all. Talk to us about the situation on the ground there. As we pointed out. You know thousands, hundreds of buildings without power, people still without water because of these strikes. What's the latest here?
SEBASTIAN: So, clearly, this continues to be a core part of Moscow's strategy, which is to dial up the pain on Ukrainian civilians, even as we expect that the diplomatic process will continue. President Zelensky telling Bloomberg this week that more talks are expected next Tuesday or Wednesday, possibly in that trilateral format that we've seen unfolding over the past few weeks.
But Moscow fired what Ukraine says was more than 200 attack drones, 25 missiles. That's a high number of missiles, part of a pattern that we've seen recently. And it's led to widespread heating outages. More than 3,500 high rise apartment buildings, the likes of which you see on those images there are, without heating this morning in Kyiv widespread power outages. This is the 11th attack, according to DTEC, the country's biggest private energy company, on their thermal power plant since October. So really key to understand that that is part of Moscow's strategy going forward and the new Ukrainian defense minister will be in Brussels today talking to NATO members. I think in particular about air defense.
SOLOMON: Clare Sebastian for us there in London -- Clare, thank you. Still ahead for us, investigators are revealing new details about the
mass shooting in a remote corner of Canada.
Ahead, what's known about the suspect and a young girl fighting to stay alive.
Plus, why this Ukrainian athlete is being banned from competition in the winter Olympics at the very last minute.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:17:42]
SOLOMON: Welcome back.
New information now on Canada's deadly mass shooting. Authorities say that an 18-year-old female killed eight people on Tuesday. Police say that Jesse Van Rootselaar was born as a biological male who, approximately six years ago, began to transition to female and identified as female, both socially and publicly. The suspects mother and stepbrother were also found dead at the family home in British Columbia. Six people were killed at the school where the alleged shooter once studied more than two dozen others were injured, among them a 12-year-old girl who is fighting for her life in the hospital.
Her mother says that she was shot in the head and neck. Canada's prime minister sent out condolences to the victims and their families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARNEY: To those families who have lost loved ones, this house mourns with you. To those who are recovering from injuries, this house prays for you. To the students the teachers, the parents, every residents of Tumbler Ridge, all of Canada stands with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And while flags across Canada are at half staff.
CNN's Paula Newton has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COMMANDING OFFICER DWAYNE MCDONALD, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE, BRITISH COLUMBIA: Upon arrival, there was active gunfire. And as officers approached, the school rounds were fired in their direction.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New details about a deadly mass shooting in a small, tight knit community in Tumbler Ridge, Canada. Mobile phone messages warned of an active shooter, describing the suspect as a woman wearing a dress with brown hair.
DARIAN QUIST, TUMBER RIDGE SENIOR: The alarm went off that I've never heard before and our principal goes throughout the halls and she's saying, people, close your doors. Lock down stuff like that. I didn't -- I think -- I thought it was a secure and hold and something like that at first so. But once things started circulating, we realize how serious it really was.
NEWTON (voice-over): The town's high school was in lockdown students barricading themselves in classrooms, a local journalist conveying the terror now rippling through the small town.
TRENT ERNST, LOCAL JOURNALIST: I talked to concerned parents who's here waiting. He got a call from his son who is sheltering in place in the gym and he's just waiting to hear from his other kid and is quite rightly nervous.
[05:20:01]
NEWTON (voice-over): Authorities say police arrived within minutes, but found six victims already dead at the school. At least 27 injured. The suspect identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, was also found dead in the school of a self-inflicted injury.
Two other victims, Rootselaar mother and a sibling were found dead at a nearby home. Police say a long gun and a modified handgun were used, and disclosed that authorities were called to the suspects home several times for mental health emergencies and firearms offenses, and they are no closer to settling on a motive.
MCDONALD: There's been much speculation within the community regarding the relationship between the shooter and some of the victims. All of that remains part of the active and ongoing investigation.
NEWTON (voice-over): Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, visibly shaken and teary eyed, expressing the profound grief now felt right across the country.
CARNEY: It's obviously a very difficult day for the nation. This morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you.
NEWTON (voice-over): Authorities are now surging resources to the area, including investigative support. Local leaders described the community as stricken. As Canada enters a full week of official mourning.
Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:27:57]
SOLOMON: Welcome back.
A Ukrainian skeleton slider has been disqualified from the winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. The International Olympic Committee says that the athlete cannot compete in his race today because his helmet violates the IOC's athlete expression guidelines. The helmet features images of athletes who were killed during the war in Ukraine. The athlete says that he is planning to appeal the decision.
Let's go live to Milan and CNN's Amanda Davies.
Amanda, what more can you share with us about the IOC's decision?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, good morning. I can tell you that the skeleton event got underway in Cortina at 9:30, about two hours ago, and the Ukrainian slider, Vladislav Heraskevych is not part of that competition because about 15 minutes before it was due to start.
This letter came through from the international bobsleigh and skeleton federation, saying at a conciliatory meeting, the athlete confirmed his steadfast will to wear the helmet in question in competition after it was pointed out to him that he would not be admitted to the skeleton competition under the circumstances.
Mr. Vladyslav Heraskevych is withdrawn from the starting list of the men's skeleton event, and this is all because he absolutely steadfastly was determined to wear what he and his team described as a helmet of remembrance, picturing 24 athletes who have -- Ukrainian athletes who have died since the start of the war in Russia. He was pictured wearing it for his first training session on Monday and then on Tuesday, and then again on Wednesday, where he posted the fastest time of the session.
But the International Olympic Committee, the IOC, says that the images of the killed athletes violates what is Article 50 of the Olympic charter, which prevents any images or symbols of discrimination or propaganda or religious allegiance within the Olympic realm. There has been a lot of discussion over.
