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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
U.S. State Department: Situation In Mexico Back To Normal; FBI: Guthrie's $1M Reward Generates Hundreds Of Credible Tips; Pentagon Pressures Anthropic To Drop A.I. Guardrails; Northeastern U.S. Digging Out Of Record Snowfall. Aired 4:35-5a ET
Aired February 25, 2026 - 04:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:39:25]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome now to our viewers joining us now from the U.S. I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York and this is EARLY START.
The U.S. State Department says that the situation in Mexico has returned to normal after the killing of drug lord El Mencho triggered widespread violence.
Americans in Mexico are no longer being urged to shelter in place. More than 100 Mexican marines are now in Jalisco state to reinforce security. This comes after cartel members went on a rampage when their leader died in a military raid on Sunday. The government says that the violence expanded across 20 of Mexico's 32 states, and it underscores how El Mencho's Jalisco New Generation Cartel expanded its territory in recent years.
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The cartel's most significant presence is in the darker blue areas on the map there. Now, the situation has raised safety concerns and security concerns about Mexico hosting World Cup matches this summer. But President Claudia Sheinbaum says that there is n risk to visitors.
We get more now from CNN's Valeria Leon in Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When a cartel leader as powerful as El Mencho is taken down, the consequences. Unfold quickly from internal power struggles to retaliation on the ground, Mexican security forces say they have regained control and are working to prevent further violence following the operation that killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, he was taken down in Tapalpa, Jalisco a town where Mexican forces carried out that operation.
This is what remains in the aftermath of that operation, military personnel continue to guard the terrain where the operation unfolded. The area is heavily wooded and difficult to access. It remains partially sealed off, with forensic teams working inside a restricted perimeter. What is normally a quiet town known for its natural beauty and weekend visitors, became the center of a major federal security deployment.
Tourists staying in the area described hearing helicopters overhead and what sounded like explosions before roads were blocked and access was cut off. But what happened in this town did not stay there. Within hours of the operation, violence spread across parts of Jalisco. It reached Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico's top destinations, the third most visited in the country, welcoming more than six million international tourists last year, many of them Americans.
With many shops now forced to close, some tourists say they've struggled to find basic necessities including food and water flights were suspended at Puerto Vallarta's international airport.
And this morning, President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the situation.
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT: Today, there are still no classes, but tomorrow they are hoping that activities will return to normal at the Guadalajara airport. Almost all flights have already resumed and things are also gradually returning to normal in Puerto Vallarta.
LEON: But even as flights resume and roads are cleared, the economic impact is already being felt just weeks before spring break. And for a region that depends heavily on international tourism, the damage may extend beyond burned vehicles and broken windows. The recovery for local businesses may take time.
Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: The king of Norway is reported in satisfactory condition after being taken to a hospital while away on holiday. Norway's royal palace says that 89-year-old King Harald V was suffering from an infection and dehydration. It happened while the king and his wife, Queen Sonja, were on a private holiday on the Spanish island of Tenerife. The palace says that the king's personal physician will travel to the island to help the local health service.
And CNN has learned that the FBI is getting a surge of credible tips in the Nancy Guthrie investigation. The new tips come after Savannah Guthrie made an emotional plea on her social media. "The Today Show" host offered up to $1 million for information about her missing mother. A source tells CNN that the Guthrie family first raised the idea of a reward early in the investigation, but was advised against making an offer at that time.
CNN's ed Lavandera reports from Tucson, Arizona.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: Hi there.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The anguish, the pain --
GUTHRIE: I'm coming on to say it is day 24 since our mom was taken.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): -- cut through Savannah Guthrie's voice in a video message announcing $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their 84-year-old mother.
GUTHRIE: We are blowing on the embers of hope. We also know that she may be lost.
She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves.
If this is what it to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): A source close to the Guthrie family says Savannah and her siblings first raised the idea of a substantial reward on the first day of the search for Nancy, but investigators cautioned against it because of concerns the calls would overwhelm the tip lines.
GUTHRIE: You can be anonymous if you want.
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Someone out there knows something that can bring her home. Somebody knows and we are begging you to please come forward now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you describe him for me, please? Is he black, white, Hispanic?
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Pima County and FBI tip lines have received tens of thousands of calls since Nancy Guthrie disappeared, but that's changed with the investigation now in its fourth week.
LAVANDERA: And how is the -- the influx of calls now?
JOANNE AMSTEAD, 911 DISPATCH SUPERVISOR, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: It's starting to taper down a little bit. Unfortunately, we haven't had a lot of, you know, new breaks with this as of late. So, as people are watching the news, maybe there's not as much new things for them to call in and report about.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): It was these haunting videos and images of the suspect standing at Nancy Guthrie's front door that's generated the largest number of tips in the last two weeks. But one of those photos stood out because in it, the suspect was not seen wearing the backpack and holstered gun around his waist. A source tells CNN that image was captured on a day before Nancy Guthrie was abducted.
The Pima County sheriff says there is no date or time stamp associated with these images. Any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative. But for weeks, investigators have been asking Guthrie's neighbors for video dating all the way back to January 1st, suggesting investigators are looking to confirm if the suspect had previously staked out Guthrie's home to plan the abduction. Outside Nancy's home, the vigil of yellow flowers keeps growing with a message to the suspect to do the right thing and end this nightmare for the Guthrie family.
GUTHRIE: So many people have been praying of every faith and no faith at all, praying for her return, and we feel those prayers.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Guthrie's wait continues.
GUTHRIE: Please keep praying without ceasing. We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home, hope against hope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: An FBI official tells CNN that in the hours since Savannah Guthrie posted that announcement of a $1 million reward, that it has generated 750 credible leads that have been passed on from the FBI call center to investigators here in Arizona. And as this official points out, they just need one of those to be the credible tip and lead that brings them to where Nancy Guthrie might be.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
SOLOMON: The director of the Louvre Museum in Paris is stepping down just four months after that daytime heist that stunned the world. Laurence des Cars admitted last year that there were not adequate security measures in place to protect the world's largest museum. Under her leadership, while several suspects have been arrested, France's crown jewels worth tens of millions of dollars, well, they're still missing.
President Emmanuel Macron accepted her resignation and praised her decision as a, quote act of responsibility.
The Pentagon is threatening A.I. firm Anthropic to remove some of its safeguards on its A.I. model, or risk losing lucrative U.S. military contracts. But sources say that Anthropic is not willing to budge on two key issues -- the use of A.I. controlled weapons and mass surveillance.
CNN's Hadas Gold reports.
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HADASS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon is giving A.I. company Anthropic until 5:01 p.m. on Friday to drop some of its internal guardrails or risk not only losing their $200 million Pentagon contract but also being put on what amounts to a military blacklist. This all came to a head on Tuesday morning at a meeting at the Pentagon between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
At issue is this contract because the Pentagon wants Anthropic to drop some of its internal guardrails because they want to be able to use their Claude A.I. system for all lawful use. But Anthropic has a few concerns.
One of their concerns is that they don't want A.I. to be used to autonomously control weapons. They don't believe that A.I. is reliable enough yet for that sort of use.
They're also concerned about A.I. being used for mass domestic surveillance of American citizens. A source familiar with the situation telling me that they just -- Anthropic just doesn't believe that there's good rules and laws in place to help govern how A.I. could be used in surveillance of American citizens.
This has anger at the Pentagon. A Pentagon official telling CNN that not only will Anthropic risk losing their Pentagon contract but they're also at risk of being deemed a supply chain risk. What this means is that any company in the United States who has a contract with the military will have to make sure that any of their work with the military doesn't touch an Anthropic product.
A lot of Anthropic's business right now is with these big corporate clients who use their Claude A.I. system. This could be a huge hit on Anthropic's bottom line.
The Pentagon has also threatened to also compel Anthropic to work with them under what's called the Defense Procurement Act which gives the government the ability to almost force companies to work with them when it comes to national security concerns.
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A Pentagon official telling CNN that legality is the Pentagon's responsibility as the end user and claiming that the Pentagon has only given out lawful orders.
Anthropic for their part says that they continue the good faith conversations about their usage policy on Tuesday in this meeting with the Pentagon. They went on to say that Anthropic will continue to support the government's national security mission in line with what their models can reliably and responsibly do.
The deadline though is looming 5:01 p.m. on Friday. A source familiar telling me that it doesn't seem as though Anthropic is going to budge.
Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Rescue workers and residents in southeastern Brazil are removing debris after landslides caused by a severe storm. At least 30 people are reported dead. Another 39 are missing. Security forces have rescued dozens of people and are hoping to find others trapped in the rubble that -- and the rubble of homes that have collapsed.
President Inacio Lula Da Silva has mobilized his government to help Brazilians affected by the storm. It has done so much damage that its difficult to get in or out of the hardest hit city. Heavy rains have damaged bridges and roads and flooded neighborhoods, forcing nearly 700 people to leave their homes.
And the danger isn't over yet, because forecasters say that more rain is coming. Local government officials are pleading with people living in hillside areas to leave their homes immediately.
Meantime, people in the northeastern U.S. are facing below freezing temperatures. Thousands of people still don't have power, and it could be days before workers can turn it back on. A bomb cyclone dumped record amounts of snow along the East Coast.
Now people are able to dig out of their homes while icy conditions are making it difficult to travel by road or by airways.
CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a historic snowfall here in New York City, more than 50 centimeters of snow fell here in Central Park. That's about 17 inches. And even more in parts outside of the city. Seventy-eight centimeters out in parts of Long Island. That is history-making storm snow. In fact, it is the snowiest storm since 1869, and it is the biggest snowstorm New York City has seen in the last 10 years.
Here in Central Park, it's turned very much into a winter -- a winter wonderland with a lot of people coming into the park to enjoy the conditions. Just take in the scenery, build snowmen and take in the beautiful sights.
But, of course, what comes next is the cleanup. And that's what we're seeing throughout a lot of the city today. Much of Manhattan, kind of the heart of the city has been cleaned up. The primary roads are cleared. The sidewalks are being cleaned.
But when it comes to the outer boroughs, parts like Staten Island, Queens, they have a lot more accumulation and they are still very much in the middle of digging out.
Now, this kind of snow that fell yesterday and on Sunday, this is very tightly packed, wet, hard snow. That means that the longer it sits around, the harder it is to clean and the heavier it gets. So, you know, you should be careful when you're out trying to shovel and clean this snow.
School children are back to school today. They were full fully back in the school buildings after having a snow day yesterday. Some local officials critical of the mayor saying they should have had remote learning today, given it's still very hard to get around in some parts of the city.
And then, of course, there's the airports. A lot of delays, in fact, as of early this morning, there were no flights taking off from the New York area airport, as well as Boston. And so it is very likely that we will continue to see delays going into the evening hours and likely into tomorrow when flights finally start to take off. I'm Gloria Pazmino, in New York, CNN.
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SOLOMON: Well, pigeons used to serve as crucial messengers throughout history because of their ability to travel long distances and return to their owners. Now, in Iraq, they've gained the spotlight in the nations popular bird sporting world. The center says that it has trained thousands of pigeons to withstand hours of continuous flight using electronic identification rings that allow them to track their movements. The center owner says that they typically train the birds for a year before entering them into competitions. One race recently drew 830 birds for a challenge spanning more than 450 kilometers.
And many people dream of traveling all over the globe, but perhaps not on a bike. One world traveler has been biking for five years on a mission to cross every continent.
CNN caught up with Ian Andersen in Tokyo as he's facing unexpected challenges along his journey.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IAN ANDERSEN, CYCLIST: All right. I biked from Portugal across Europe, all the way to Asia. I biked to Japan, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Ian Andersen just traversed six continents on his bike. It took five years to do it. His latest leg was through 20 countries from Portugal to Japan. Andersen documented his journey along the way.
ANDERSEN: The stars were unbelievable this morning. I'm curious about the world and people in the world, different cultures, exploring. I was curious about places like the Iran, Russia, what the people were like there. And so, I biked to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): He said he was most surprised by Afghanistan.
ANDERSEN: I was just so caught offguard and surprised by their generosity. It felt like every day they were inviting me into their home, offering me food, tea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): While he faced his biggest challenge in Iran, getting stuck in the country after Israel launched a series of deadly strikes in June last year.
ANDERSEN: More bombs are falling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Unsurprisingly, he says it's now time for a break, but not for long. He says next up and the last continent to cross is Antarctica. He plans to do it later this year.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SOLOMON: Okay, that'll do it for us here. Thanks for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York. I'll be back with more news after this short break.
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