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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Search for Nancy Guthrie in its Ninth Day; Buckingham Palace: Ready to Support Police; Maxwell Pleads the Fifth in House Oversight Committee Deposition; Russian Drones Forces Hindered by a Loss of Access to Starlink; U.S. Wants Ukraine-Russia Peace Deal by June; Japan's Takaichi Wins Election; Jimmy Lai Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison; Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Message: Love is Stronger Than Hate. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired February 09, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, "THE BRIEF": Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and
you're watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie releases a new video saying her family is at an hour of desperation as the search for her mother
Nancy enters a ninth day. Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer says she can clear Donald Trump's name in the Epstein scandal in exchange for clemency. And
Bad Bunny sends a message saying love is stronger than hate in a fantastic Super Bowl halftime performance.
We begin with the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie. No word from her possible abductors after they sent
ransom notes to media outlets last week. A CNN affiliate in Arizona says it received one of those notes demanding $6 million in Bitcoin by late this
afternoon. Just a few hours ago, Savannah Guthrie posted a new video pleading for her 84-year-old mother's safe return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: We believe our mom is still out there. We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly around
the clock trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken and we don't know where. And we need your help.
So, I'm coming on just to ask you, not just for your prayers, but no matter where you are, even if you're far from Tucson, if you see anything, you
hear anything, if there's anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement, we are at an hour of desperation. And we
need your help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Joining us now, former FBI counterintelligence operative, Eric O'Neill. He's the national security strategist for Carbon Black. Thanks so
much for joining.
ERIC O'NEILL, FORMER FBI COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE AND NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGIST, CARBON BLACK: Thank you for having me, Jim.
SCIUTTO: First, I want to ask you, does the response right now from police and the FBI, but also the family in that message Savannah delivered there,
does that indicate to you that investigators are operating under the assumption that they are in touch with the actual kidnappers, that these
messages they've received are genuine?
O'NEILL: Yes. So, all the information that we've received suggests that they do believe this is a kidnapping. They believe, at least from what
we've heard from some of the reporting, that those messages do have information that could only be known by Nancy Guthrie or someone who had
Nancy Guthrie that doesn't mean that this is a kidnapping, but it means that the best guess of law enforcement is that someone has her and that she
may still be alive.
So, when you see that desperation from the family, a huge part of that is that they are in one of the most untenable circumstances I can imagine.
Their mother has been taken and they have no way to communicate with those who have taken her and negotiate or even confirm for themselves that she is
indeed alive.
SCIUTTO: There was something else that stood out to me in Savannah Guthrie's latest video. She said, in appealing for help to just people,
members of the public, she said, even if you're far from Tucson, did you note that as well? Would that indicate that perhaps there's some evidence
that the kidnappers might be far from Tucson where Nancy was taken?
O'NEILL: It's certainly possible. What I see here is that the tenor of these different messages have changed if you go through them from one to
the next. The last one didn't mention asking for a sign of life or the deadline. And this one is not talking to the kidnappers, but it is talking
to an appeal for help for anyone who might have seen her. And yes, it's quite possible that the kidnappers have moved her outside of Tucson or
farther.
One other thing, Jim, that interested me in this is it's possible that she could be appealing to one of the kidnappers. They have had her for a long
time now.
[18:05:00]
And, you know, there might be somebody who's having a moment of conscience and perhaps seeing the daughter plead for her mother's life. One of the
kidnappers themselves could actually turn on the others.
SCIUTTO: Yes, that's a great point. I wonder at this point, of course they want proof of life, right, I mean, for the sake of the investigation, but
also just for the peace of mind of the family. Would investigators typically be demanding proof of life to move forward? I mean, for instance,
as a prerequisite to any payment?
O'NEILL: Yes, typically you would want a proof of life before you put $6 million in a cryptocurrency wallet and then take the risk that the FBI is
not able to track that cryptocurrency using chain analysis through the blockchain and hopefully identify a wallet link to a person, right? So,
there's a lot of steps there and a lot of ways things can go wrong.
And so, typically, you would actually have an open dialogue with the kidnappers. And what makes this case so strange is the kidnappers refuse to
communicate. They have only communicated these few times and they've closed any door for follow-up communication. And that makes it incredibly
difficult to even find a purchase of interest in this case.
SCIUTTO: Eric O'Neill, former FBI, but also I should note the author of the book, "Spies, Lies, and Cybercrime," thanks so much for helping us
understand the status of this case.
O'NEILL: Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is now fighting for his political survival. Some of his top aides have already resigned and some
lawmakers in his own party are calling for him to step down. This is because he appointed Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
And a recent release of the Epstein files revealed concerning new details about Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson under
investigation now for allegedly sending sensitive government information to the convicted sex offender.
British police are also assessing claims that Prince Andrew shared confidential trade information with Epstein. Max Foster is in London with
the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR & ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, King Charles signaling his readiness to cooperate with U.K. police in any
investigation into his brother, Andrew. The Epstein crisis now engulfing the palace and the U.K. parliament.
U.K. police are, quote, "assessing" reports that former Prince Andrew shared confidential information with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey
Epstein. Emails suggest that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in his previous role as trade envoy sent Epstein reports in 2010 containing briefings on
official government visits to Asia and investment opportunities.
Prince William breaking his silence on the Epstein affair. Ahead of a visit to Saudi Arabia, a palace spokesperson saying the Prince and Princess of
Wales thoughts remain focused on the victims. King Charles reiterated the same sentiment in a later statement saying, if they're approached by Thames
Valley police, we stand ready to support them as you'd expect. As was previously stated, their majesty's thoughts and sympathies have been and
remain with the victims of any and all forms of abuse.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in order to leave his royal residence last year due to his ties to the late sex offender, Epstein. This
photo showed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with Epstein's former girlfriend and convicted child sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein survivor,
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was just 17. He settled a civil lawsuit by Giuffre out of court in 2022.
Giuffre died by suicide last April.
On January 30th, the latest tranche of Epstein documents had three undated photos showing Andrew kneeling over what appears to be a woman or girl
whose face has been redacted, lying fully clothed and supine on the floor. Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: He lied about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER (voice-over): U.K. premier Keir Starmer facing his own storm over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. in 2024,
despite knowing about his ties to the late child sex trafficker. Documents reveal that Mandelson too shared confidential information with Epstein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARMER: To learn that there was a cabinet minister leaking sensitive information at the height of the response to the 2008 crash is beyond
infuriating. And I am as angry as the public and any member of this house. Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament and my party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[18:10:00]
FOSTER (voice-over): Mandelson resigned from the ruling Labour Party and the House of Lords and is under police investigation. Calls for Starmer to
step down have grown following the resignations of his top two aides, including his long-serving chief of staff who stepped down on Sunday.
ANAS SARWAR, SCOTTISH LABOUR PARTY: That's why the distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change.
FOSTER (voice-over): The more we see of the Epstein files, the deeper it plunges the British public's interest in the case.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment against self- incrimination as she, of course, the accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, refused to answer questions from the U.S. House Oversight Committee. Her lawyer
though sent a message right to the Oval Office saying, quote, "Ms. Maxwell is prepares to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President
Trump." Adding, "Both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing." You'll remember she was sentenced to prison for 20 years
for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to abuse and traffic minors.
Members of Congress can now access millions of uncensored records relating to the Epstein investigation. Congressman Jamie Raskin says he saw, quote,
"tons of completely unnecessary redactions." Congressman Jared Moskowitz said he had serious concerns about co-conspirators.
Annie Grayer is live on Capitol Hill. And, Annie, I wonder if lawmakers you spoke to were concerned about the quite explicit request, it seemed, from
Ghislaine Maxwell for clemency from Trump in exchange, it seemed, for exonerating him. Well, what's been the reaction there?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Lawmakers were pretty furious outside of that deposition room when I talked to them because they felt like
Maxwell's attorney was trying to negotiate potentially with the White House through them, through this deposition. And it prevented them from actually
getting the answers to the questions that they've had, that they've been trying to interview Maxwell for months.
But she and her attorney have been negotiating and trying to prevent this deposition from happening, but it did unfold today. And Maxwell, instead of
answering any questions, pled her Fifth Amendment rights against self- incrimination, which of course is her right, which is another roadblock for both Democrats and Republicans who want answers from Maxwell. And we're
still waiting to see what the White House's latest reaction is to Maxwell's attorney saying that she will speak if given clemency from President Trump.
But that wasn't the only big development on Capitol Hill today, Jim, when it comes to the Epstein investigation. Today in the building behind me was
the first day that lawmakers could actually view the unredacted documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files.
I just spoke with Congressman Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, who witness -- who reviewed those documents and said that after going through the
information, that they believe that there are at least six additional men who are not public right now, that the DOJ had actually redacted their
names and they could be potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein. Take a listen to what they just told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): What I saw that bothered me were the names of at least six men that have been redacted that are likely incriminated by
their inclusion in these files. So, that's the first thing that I saw. It took some digging to find them.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): There are six men, some of them with their photographs that have been redacted and there's no explanation why those
people were redacted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: So, that's a major question for the Department of Justice is why were these men's name redacted when the law was only supposed to
protect the survivors? And in fact, what we've seen as these documents have been released by the Department of Justice that actually a lot of the
survivors have had their personal information out there. So, how did this happen?
And another thing that Khanna and Massie told me was that even in this room where they're suppose -- where lawmakers are supposed to be able to see the
unredacted documents, even some of those documents are still redacted. So, that raises the question, is the documents -- some of the documents that
the Department of Justice received redacted? Because they're supposed to get all of the unredacted versions of everything. So, why hasn't that
happened yet?
There's a lot of questions here still, Jim, both on the Maxwell front and also where things stand with the documents.
SCIUTTO: Yes, a lot of those questions just simply not getting answered. Annie Greyer on the Hill, thanks so much.
To Ukraine now, where officials say Russian forces are being hindered after losing access to Starlink satellite communication terminals. SpaceX is now
blocking unregistered terminals in occupied parts of Ukraine. The commander of Ukraine's armed forces says their troops stabilized the front lines in
January and inflicted more than 30,000 Russian casualties, just in a month.
[18:15:00]
General Oleksandr Syrskyi says long-range weapons were used in dozens of missions against Russian energy targets last month. Belgorod in Russia was
plunged into darkness last week after a reported Ukrainian attack. But Russia continues its unrelenting assault on Ukraine's power grid in the
midst of a harsh, harsh winter. Kyiv says hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are struggling without electricity in the middle of that cold.
Joining me now from Kyiv, Human Rights Attorney Oleksandra Matviichuk. She chairs the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, which won the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2022 for documenting war crimes and the abuse of human rights in Ukraine. Oleksandra, it's so good to have you on. Thanks so much for
joining.
OLEKSANDRA MATVIICHUK, HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Thank you for invitation.
SCIUTTO: First, I just want to begin with what you and other residents of Kyiv are going through right now. This expanding Russian onslaught, it
seemed, to try to freeze the people of Ukraine. How is Ukraine surviving this?
MATVIICHUK: My native city, Kyiv, and other Ukrainian cities are constantly bombarded by Russian ballistic missiles and drones. They
deliberately target energy grid, the very infrastructure which help people to survive during the winter. People are literally freezing in their flats
without heat, water, electricity. It's a survival question because we have no practical answer how to their newborn baby.
SCIUTTO: Your research has found that the number of Ukrainian civilians killed and injured due to those Russian attacks rose by a third, 31 percent
in the last year compared to the previous one. Is that evidence, and there are other measures of how the number of drones and missiles coming in have
gone up, is that evidence of a failure of U.S. policy under President Trump to deter Vladimir Putin?
MATVIICHUK: It's evident that we lost human dimension in this peace talk. Politicians discussed natural minerals, Russia's territorial claims,
geopolitical interests, but they don't speak about people. There is no red lines at all. Putin can't win on the battlefield, and that is why Putin
deliberately target Ukrainian civilians. He believe he can do whatever he want.
SCIUTTO: Yes. You have said that the threat does not end at Ukraine, that Putin sees Ukraine as a bridge to attack the next European country, and
you've noted how Putin claims that the borders of the Russian Federation never end. Do you believe that Europe is Putin's next target? Members of
NATO, perhaps?
MATVIICHUK: But they publicly discussed on Russian TV what next country to attack. It's not a war about territories. It's very naive to think that
Putin started large-scale war and lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers just to occupy Avdiivka, Bakhmut. Majority of people in Russia can't even
find these tiny Ukrainian cities in the map.
Putin dreams about his legacy. His logic is historical, not transactional. He want to forcibly restore Russian empire, and that is why people in other
European countries, they are safe only because Ukrainians still don't let Russian army to move further.
SCIUTTO: As Russia expands its attacks during the ongoing U.S.-led peace negotiations, is Russia, in effect, mocking those negotiations by expanding
the war?
MATVIICHUK: But what we see for current moment, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to every peacemaking efforts of President Trump with
intensified attacks to Ukraine. It's not signs of peace, because first, which must be done, ceasefire. We must stop killings, and then to discuss
in diplomatic way the conditions.
But now we have no ceasefire at all. Russians try to conduct offense, and they just use this peace talk as a tool how to gain time and to decrease
the level of support of Ukraine by international community to make for them easy to achieve its goal to occupy and destroy the whole country.
[18:20:00]
SCIUTTO: Your organization, and this is why it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has documented more than 78,000 individual episodes of war crimes
committed by Russian forces, going back to nearly four years ago when this full-scale invasion started. Do you believe that Putin and other senior
Russian leaders will someday be held accountable for this, that perhaps there will be a Nuremberg trial for Russian leaders?
MATVIICHUK: We are working on this, and our future is not just unclear, it's also not pre-written. We have no guarantees, but we have a chance, and
this means that we have a chance to create a future which we want. And justice is preconditioned to peace in other parts of the globe, where
Russia for decades used the war as a tool how to achieve its geopolitical interests, and uses war crimes as a method how to win the war.
SCIUTTO: Oleksandra Matviichuk, we appreciate the work you're doing, it's important work, and thanks so much for taking the time to join our
broadcast.
MATVIICHUK: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Please be safe as well. Well, in Japan, a big political gamble has paid off. Japan's prime minister's savoring her landslide election
victory over the weekend, what it all means for the country's economy, but also crucially, its foreign policy, just after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, a solid start to the trading week on Wall Street. The Dow rose to fresh records after hitting
50,000 on Friday. Tech stocks continued to recover after last week's selloff.
Japanese stocks hit record highs after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, her big election win over the weekend. The benchmark Nikkei average finished
Monday session up almost 4 percent, briefly topped the 57,000 mark. Takaichi will have a two-thirds super majority in the lower house after
that sweeping victory and a clear mandate to pass both economic and military reforms she campaigned on. She might also push for a
constitutional overhaul.
China struck a cautious note saying its policy toward Japan will not be changed by one election. Prime Minister Takaichi angered China last year,
you may remember, when she said Japan might intervene if Beijing were to attack Taiwan, even though Japan, of course, still has a pacifist
constitution, which has been gradually changing over recent years.
[18:25:00]
Tobias Harris joins me now. He's the founder of political advisory firm Japan Foresight. Good to have you back, Tobias. Thanks so much.
TOBIAS HARRIS, FOUNDER, JAPAN FORESIGHT: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: So, an ambitious plan going forward, and now she has the mandate. So, first on economic proposals, what does she in effect envision for the
economy? Lower taxes? I mean, this is meant to be an economic revival?
HARRIS: I think the thing to understand about her ideas for governing the economy, I mean, I think she's been very clear about this both during the
campaign trail and when she was running for the LDP's leadership last year. You know, she views this in some ways as Japan's last chance to revive its
industrial base in a world in which China, of course, is now the world's manufacturing superpower. Other countries are reviving their industries.
And she is afraid that Japan is falling behind in advanced industrial sectors. And so, she really wants to promote investment.
And I think the thing to understand about her is that she wants to really spend more to build national champions. This is something Japan's been
doing with semiconductors. She wants to do it in other sectors. And that is really, I think, the center of her agenda, what she really wants to do.
SCIUTTO: OK. Let's talk then on foreign policy, because she also campaigned on a tougher stance toward China and rebuilding Japan's
military. Now, some of that has been in the works for some time, but do you see her accelerating both those things?
HARRIS: It's absolutely in the works. I mean, you know, her government after in the months, you know, immediately after taking power, she
introduced some extra spending on defense that met Japan's two percent of GDP target a year ahead of schedule. They're working on updating basically
their three core documents that guide the direction of national security policy. Those are going to be done this year.
We don't quite know what the target for defense spending over the next five years is going to be. Of course, there's lots of pressure from the United
States to raise that to three and a half percent or five and a half percent of GDP, depending on how you measure that. Of course, Japan does have
fiscal constraints. And so, how they're going to do that and still pay for it is a question. But she certainly has the mandate to push ahead, to find
a way to expand what Japan spends on defense.
SCIUTTO: Tell us what those potential changes to those three principles would mean. How far is her government likely to push that?
HARRIS: So, I mean, just in terms of numbers, I mean, I think, you know, the fixation on numbers and a lot of that, of course, comes from, you know,
pressure from the Trump administration about, you know, having allies pay more. You know, Takaichi herself, I think, has been very careful not to say
any numbers. There's just an understanding they're going to go further.
In terms of some of the big shifts about what Japan can do or what kind of roles we can play, in some ways, the biggest changes came in 2022, where
Japan decided it was going to acquire strike capabilities, something that had been debated for a while, but they'd never done. And so, of course, now
they've started buying Tomahawk missiles. They've really started expanding their power projection capabilities. They're converting ships to aircraft
carriers. So, a lot of that work is already being done. I think the focus, you know, a lot of the focus going forward is learning lessons from the war
in Ukraine.
So, of course, there's a lot of focus on autonomous systems, a lot of focus on drones. There's a lot of focus on just ensuring that Japan has the
manpower to fight the wars of the future. And so, that, I think, is really going to be the focus going forward, making sure that you can meet those
needs and that you're prepared for the challenges that have been revealed in recent years.
SCIUTTO: Yes. And drones, manpower, concerns for Europe, certainly, as well. Before we go, Takaichi will meet Trump in March, notably, before
Trump meets Xi Jinping in February. What are Japan's concerns going into that U.S.-China summit? Are there genuine concerns that perhaps he might, I
don't know, quite throw Japan under the bus, but make concessions that Japan's not happy with?
HARRIS: I think, simply put, there are three issues for Japan, I think, heading into that summit. I mean, I think, one, they want, you know, some
reassurance that Japan's interests will be recalled when Trump meets with Xi Jinping. I mean, I think this is actually very similar back in 2018,
when Trump was looking to meet with Kim Jong-un, and then Prime Minister Abe was constantly reaching out to Trump, calling Trump, trying to get him
to remember that Japan has equities and interests at stake on the Korean Peninsula. It'll be very much the same thing, if not even bigger. You know,
I just think Japan is very nervous about what might be on the table.
I think the second thing they're looking for is reassurance that Trump appreciates the efforts that Japan is making on defense. And so, far, we've
seen that in defense ministerials, and so on. Generally, there's not been too much criticism for what Japan has done. But I think they want to
continue to hear that Trump is satisfied with the efforts that Japan is making, even though we don't have a number on defense spending.
And I think the last thing is, they want some assurance that Trump is satisfied with the efforts that Japan is making to fulfill the U.S.-Japan
trade agreement from last year. There's some reporting that Trump is unhappy, that Japan might be dragging its feet. So, I think, you know,
Takaichi is going to have to come showing that Japan is making good efforts. But I think they want to get praised for those efforts. And I
think that will be one of the biggest questions in March.
[18:30:00]
SCIUTTO: Tobias Harris, thanks so much for joining.
HARRIS: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Just ahead, the latest on the apparent abduction of Nancy Guthrie, a new plea for help from her family as the search for the 84-year-
old enters its ninth day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto, and here are the international headlines we're watching today.
On Capitol Hill, an extraordinary offer from the imprisoned Epstein accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, at a virtual deposition before the House
Oversight Committee. Maxwell's lawyer said she would clear President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing if he granted her clemency. Maxwell is serving her
20-year sentence at a minimum-security prison in Texas now.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will not walk away from his mandate, rejecting calls to resign over his appointment of Peter Mandelson.
Starmer met with lawmakers from the Labour Party trying to rally support. Two senior aides have now stepped down over his former U.S. ambassador's
links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The possible captors of Nancy Guthrie are now demanding a ransom of some $6 million by this evening. This, according to CNN affiliate KGUN. Nancy
Guthrie is the mother of Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie. Nancy's family posted a video over the weekend saying that they are willing to pay, and a
new video posted just today, Savannah Guthrie pleaded for help, saying the family believes their mother is still out there.
Joining us now from Tucson is Ed Lavandera. And Ed, you've been covering this closely from the beginning. Do you sense some movement based on the
content of this latest plea from Savannah Guthrie, but also what we know about this minimal communication with the possible abductors here?
[18:35:00]
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we, you know, every time one of these videos comes out, we're kind of left to dissect
what's being said. But obviously, sometimes even more importantly, what's not being said. The video today, at least kind of in our initial assessment
of it, seems to indicate that perhaps they're not going to be able to get the ransom of the $6 million.
Communicating indirectly with whoever is sending the ransom letters. And the question is, does that mean that they no longer believe that these are
credible, authentic letters, or are they moving on to something else? We do not know the answer to that. In fact, investigators here in Tucson have
just put another statement, no clear updates on any of those videos or assessments of what's going on.
So, we're left to kind of, you know, everyone can listen to that and make up their own mind or their own assessment of what we're seeing there. So,
that -- but that does remain the question, because there is this looming deadline here this afternoon that was alleged and written in one of the
ransom notes. And clearly, it's unclear, you know, what the family is going to do. It'd be hard to imagine that if that was a communication that was
still going on, or a payment that was going to be made, that that would be talked about publicly.
But as that is also happening, Jim, we do know that investigators continue to do their work in other areas of this investigation and this search for
84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. In fact, we just heard from investigators here that once again, they will be returning to this neighborhood and this
property to what they describe as just the normal process of this investigation to come back out to this neighborhood and also into tomorrow
as well.
So, you know, there are clearly a number of leads as they have continued to request the public for more leads, call in anything they find strange. We
do know that investigators are asking neighbors whether or not they've seen anything suspicious or a suspicious vehicle, anything like that.
Presumably, those leads are still coming in. And we do know that, you know, they're chasing down everything that does come in.
But, you know, to this point, the bottom line here, not much has changed, that there are no suspects, no persons of interest, no real clear
indication that they know where Nancy Guthrie might be. Jim.
SCIUTTO: Can I ask you this then, Ed? And I know I'm asking you to read tea leaves, minimal tea leaves released by investigators. But when Savannah
Guthrie said in this latest video that we believe our mother, paraphrasing, is still out there, do we know the basis of that statement? Do we know if
investigators have any confidence or information that leads them to believe that she's still alive?
LAVANDERA: I think, you know, the sheriff told me the same thing several days ago, that not only do they believe that she's out there, that she's
out there alive. That could very well just be coming from a place of, you know, not wanting to give up hope. But they've also put out a great deal of
urgency, saying that with every passing day, given the medical condition and the medicines that Nancy Guthrie needs, that every day that passes by,
it makes it more difficult to have hope that she might be able to endure or survive whatever it is that she's being put through.
You can also, you know, see a scenario where, you know, a child and Nancy Guthrie has three children who clearly love her deeply, and they do not
want to give up hope that there's a chance that she might be brought home alive.
SCIUTTO: Understandably so. Ed Lavandera in Tucson, thanks so much.
LAVANDERA: Yes. Thanks, Jim.
SCIUTTO: A court in Hong Kong has sentenced the former Hong Kong media mogul, Jimmy Lai, to 20 years behind bars. The sentence is the longest
delivered under a sweeping national security law imposed in Hong Kong back in 2020. China is responding to broad criticism from Western governments,
including the U.S. government. Beijing urging them, quote, "to refrain from making irresponsible remarks on judicial proceedings and not to interfere
in its judicial affairs."
Kristie Lu Stout was outside the Hong Kong courthouse when Lai was sentenced.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing outside the court where the former Hong Kong media mogul and longtime critic of China, Jimmy Lai,
has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. In December, he was found guilty of sedition and two counts of colluding with foreign forces.
Now, collusion here in Hong Kong under the Beijing-imposed national security law is a very serious crime, punishable by up to life in prison.
Jimmy Lai earlier had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In December, the three judges presiding over the case and convicted Jimmy Lai, they called him a, quote, "mastermind of conspiracies." They pointed
out his lobbying of U.S. politicians during President Donald Trump's first term, as well as how he used his empire, namely his Apple Daily newspaper,
to call for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong during the 2019 protests.
[18:40:00]
Now, this has been the most high-profile national security case since the law was imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020. It's been roundly
criticized by Western governments. The U.S. and other countries have called for the release of Jimmy Lai. In fact, U.S. President Donald Trump
reportedly pressed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to free Jimmy Lai during their talks last year. China has repeatedly warned against any interference, and
Hong Kong has insisted that Jimmy Lai has received a fair trial.
So, what happens next? Well, an appeal could be a long, drawn-out process with a low success rate. As for Jimmy Lai, he is 78 years old and has
already spent more than five years in prison.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Next, life through a lens. We speak to an award-winning photojournalist about capturing our world in a way that just transcends
words.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: At a time when we feel bombarded by media and information and images, there are times when a single image can take your breath away. They
are the pictures that truly do tell a thousand words or perhaps thousands of them, capturing entire stories in a single frame, such as this photo of
a boy in Gaza seeking help in Qatar. It was the overall winner of last year's World Press Photo Contest, a project bringing together some of the
most compelling images of 2025. They are now being shown at an exhibit in New York. Among the 42 projects chosen was this image by photographer John
Moore, documenting Chinese migrants after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
And the award-winning photographer and Getty Images senior special correspondent John Moore joins us now. John, good to have you. Thanks so
much.
JOHN MOORE, AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER AND SENIOR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, GETTY IMAGES: Very good to be with you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: First, if we can begin with that photo we just showed of yours, Night Crossing. Can you tell us the story behind it and why it stood out to
you?
MOORE: Well, I had been working covering the U.S.-Mexico border. I was assigned to go from San Diego and Tijuana all the way to the Gulf of
Mexico. I've been covering immigration, the border, of course, and in the interior of the U.S. for over 15 years. And on that particular occasion, I
had spoken with a humanitarian worker earlier in the day in that area, and he told me along this remote spot of Southern California, groups of several
hundred would cross in the middle of the night.
[18:45:00]
And so, I got a text as I was going to sleep that night and raced out and photographed this extraordinary scene. You know, when people talk about how
terrifying the border can be, well, I can tell you this. When people come across after such a harrowing journey, in this case, all the way from
China, they're relieved. Now, I don't speak Mandarin, I speak Spanish, but it's easy to communicate with people who are relieved and happy to be
somewhere.
And so, they allowed me to photograph them. It was very dark. And the light in this case was from a campfire from garbage and used clothing that they
were burning, and it made for almost a renaissance-type lighting. And once in a while, if you do this long enough, you make some pictures that count.
SCIUTTO: Yes. It was a golden light there, so powerful. So, that was a moment of relief. Speak about an event that is the opposite of that, right,
the events of Minneapolis in recent days and weeks. You were there for the immigration crackdown. Tell us your experience there.
MOORE: Well, you know, I had been there for the last week, actually all this last week of those protests. And when I arrived, the agent in charge,
Bovino, had just been shipped out. And there was a palpable change in the level of violence, frankly, that was happening. And so, I concentrated on
photographing the protests and people just managing to go out and express themselves under a very bitter Arctic cold.
And so, I was flying the drone. You can see the pictures from above, and it gives you a perspective of just how this community came together in dealing
with this crisis.
SCIUTTO: You know, there are moments in history where photos, I think one can argue, changed history or maybe influenced it, right? Just photos that
spoke, for instance, I think of that photo, Dorothea Lange from the depression, right? Just spoke of the depression or Bull Connor's dogs
attacking marchers during the civil rights movement. There are times when photos can change history.
I just wonder, you know, the impression today would be that, like, there's so much technology and there's videos. Everybody's got a video camera on
their phone and there's A.I. and so on. Do you find that powerful photos get lost in that or that powerful photos can still drive change?
MOORE: Well, I think right now more than ever, photojournalism is so important because the public oftentimes doesn't know what to trust. Yes,
lots of videos come from the public. You have citizen journalists, if you will, and they, to be honest, there is such an incredible need for content
with 24-hour news channels like CNN, with Getty Images, with all the media organizations that exist. As we see, some are going down. We've seen some
problems there at the Washington Post and so many journalists just lost their jobs there. But still, there's this incredible need for content.
And so, I think it's important that the public can trust photojournalists who do it for a living, that their pictures are going to be honest and to
be taken with some ethics. And, you know, people ask, well, how do you know if a picture is real or not? And I can say that most news organizations,
reputable news organizations, are going to stake their reputation on the images that they show.
And as far as individual photographers go, look, the company I work for and almost every legitimate media organization, if you alter a picture, if you
manipulate it, then you don't get a second chance. It is a zero-tolerance policy. And so, one of the ways that keeps everyone honest is that you
simply won't have a job if you're manipulating a scene in Photoshop or arranging pictures that aren't real. And so, I think the public, when it
comes to major news organizations, can have faith in what we do because our jobs and our reputation relies on it.
SCIUTTO: Yes, that's a good point. John Moore, good to have you on.
MOORE: Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: Coming up just after the break, Bad Bunny bounces into the Super Bowl halftime show with a rousing performance and a cameo, as you see there
from Lady Gaga. We're going to take a look at how that all went down at the White House and around the country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAD BUNNY, PUERTO RICAN RAPPER AND SINGER: God bless America. Chile, Argentina Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia,
Venezuela, Guyana --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That was Bad Bunny there naming all the countries of the Americas, North and South, in a Spanish-filled Super Bowl halftime
performance. Before ending with two quite distinct messages in English. Emblazoned behind him the phrase, the only thing stronger than hate is
love. And the football he spiked before walking off the field said, again in English, together we are America.
Not everyone saw it that way. These were President Trump's thoughts, quote, "It makes no sense. An affront to the greatness of America. Nobody
understands a word this guy is saying. The dancing is disgusting."
Joining me now, entertainment journalist Segun Oduolowu. Segun, good to have you back. Let's set aside Trump for a moment because I watched that
halftime show. I watched it with my two sons. Hard to get them to sit down. And they were like, loving it. I mean, it was a party. As I watched it, I
was like, this is a great party. I wish I was there.
So, I was personally surprised. I probably shouldn't have been. With all this, like, right-wing outrage that it was too Spanish. It was this or
that. I mean, is it -- was that criticism confined to a small group? I mean, how was it received more broadly?
SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Well, hey, Jim, if we think confined to a small group, we mean millions. I mean, millions tuned into
the opposite count of programming. So, it depends on how you look at the 110 plus million that saw Bad Bunny and the 5 to 7 million that saw The
Count of Programming. But you hit it, you hit the nail right on the head.
It was a vibe. I love what T.J. Watt said -- you know, or J.J. Watt, sorry, the big brother of T.J. Watt, the retired football player, that, look, did
I understand the lyrics? No. Was it a vibe? Yes. And that's what the music, that's what the whole atmosphere was. There were, you know, Easter eggs.
And who better to give you Easter eggs than Bad Bunny with Easter right around the corner.
But to quote, you know, President Trump, that it was a slap in the face. The only things that I saw slapping were the music, some booties, some
bodies. And I was here for it. So, please, more halftime shows where we get this type of entertainment.
SCIUTTO: Yes. And there were nice things, too. I mean, listen, there was a real live wedding in the midst of it. It's funny, because as I watched it,
I was like, that can't be real, right? That must just be a performance. But then, of course, you read afterwards, a couple got married in the midst of
it.
ODUOLOWU: Yes. No, there were real life weddings. You know, you talked about the Lady Gaga cameo. Then we had Ricky Martin pop up. We had, you
know, him handing a Grammy to a small boy. There was a Cardi B cameo. There was a Pedro Pascal cameo. There was a Jessica Alba cameo. All around, there
were these stars. And if you really think about it, it's what makes America really great. It's the diversity. And he showed his Puerto Rican heritage,
his roots.
And, you know, the cane fields, them bringing those fields onto a football field, I thought was very symbolic. I thought the style of the music and
the different -- you know, from everything, from it felt like cumbia to mariachi to just different aspects of Latin music.
[18:55:00]
And then having Lady Gaga out there for the English needy fans was like, look, we're all America. We're all better together. And if you want to make
America great again, the greatness starts with togetherness. And I love that message.
SCIUTTO: It's kind of like you're either going to accept that argument or not, right? I mean, it's sort of like what? Because there was a lot of
going into it. Folks are like, oh, is he going to make an anti-ICE message or whatever? That didn't happen. And yet still, you know, either you like
it or you don't, right?
ODUOLOWU: Yes. He wasn't going to convert people that didn't like him to become fans. What he did do was solidify the fans that he had, show why
he's such a huge performer all around the world with the artistry and the vibe of it. Just like the jacket I'm wearing. It's a vibe, Jim. It's all
about the vibe.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ODUOLOWU: Like I said, the movement, the magic, the Spanish, I was here for it. Even if my collegiate Spanish made me only understand every third
or fourth word.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it's kind of like watching a party you wish you were invited to, right? Segun, always good to have you back.
ODUOLOWU: Absolutely. Kind of like you and I when we're on the air. People wish they could be with us.
SCIUTTO: Exactly. Totally. A hundred percent. You know, maybe slightly more for the halftime show. But yes, you and I are, you know -- we're plan
B. Good to have you on.
ODUOLOWU: Thanks, Jim.
SCIUTTO: And thanks so much to all of you for your company. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay
with CNN.
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