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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

FBI Agents Search Area Near Nancy Guthrie's Home; Canadian Authorities Reveal New Details on Mass Shooting; Trump, Netanyahu Met at White House to Discuss Iran; U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi Clashes with Democrats. Bondi Engages in Shouting Matches During Congressional Testimony; James van der Beek's Death Raising Awareness about Colorectal Cancer; Winter Sprots Gaining Popularity in China. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired February 12, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: -- local sheriff's department at 520-351- 4900 or contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also visit Tips.FBI.com -- .gov, excuse me.

This has been a special edition of LAURA COATES LIVE, "The Search for Nancy Guthrie." Thank you all for watching. I'll see you back here tomorrow night. "THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON" starts now.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. Here's what's ahead this hour on THE STORY IS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS a mysterious glove and its possible connection to Nancy Guthrie's kidnaping.

THE STORY IS President Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

THE STORY IS gone too soon. Actor James Van Der Beek loses his battle with colon cancer at 48. Key information you need to know about screenings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.

MICHAELSON: And welcome to THE STORY IS. It's 9:00 here in Los Angeles, 10:00 in Arizona, where investigators are sweeping the area around the home of Nancy Guthrie looking for any 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 house. It's unclear if authorities believe it's the same glove worn by the person in the doorbell camera video released by the FBI, which was captured the night that Guthrie disappeared.

That person was also seen wearing this backpack. We're told 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, currently about $66,000, for that information.

CNN's Nick Watt joins me now from Tucson, Arizona.

Nick, what would you say was the big headline of this day?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are searching, again, FBI agents all around here, all around Nancy Guthrie's home looking for anything that might have been discarded or dropped by that person that we see in that chilling video. The nest camera video from the door that shows this masked, armed person arriving in the early hours of that Sunday morning when Nancy Guthrie disappeared.

So they have been going through the gravel, through the undergrowth. There's a huge empty lot across the road from Nancy Guthrie's house. They have been searching for anything. And according to the "New York Post," they did find a black glove. Now, if you remember in that chilling video that suspect, that person is wearing gloves. They have apparently found black glove.

Now we don't know if that glove is indeed connected. It was found within two miles of Nancy Guthrie's house. We don't know if it was connected or not, but you can be assured that investigators will be trying to get anything from that glove that might lead them to a suspect. So really what has been going on since that video came out is lots of tips, 4,000 tips in a day came in after that, and investigators are just going over old ground.

Now that they know what they're looking for, they're looking for maybe that backpack, the gloves, the ski mask, they're searching again. And we've also heard that they've been searching again at Annie Guthrie's house around there. Annie Guthrie is of course Nancy's daughter. Nancy was there for dinner the night before she disappeared, and one neighbor there said, yes, you know, the FBI came around about a week ago just canvasing.

They came back and they asked me if they could look around outside the back of my property, the bit of his property that butts on to Annie Guthrie's property. So basically, that video has supercharged this investigation, has given investigators something to go on. They are searching, searching, but still we don't have a name of any suspect -- Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes, and that one of the tips after that video led them to that potential person that they were interested in last night, who they detained and then they released, so sometimes some of these tips are good and sometimes some of these tips are not as good.

WATT: Well, and Elex, what was amazing about that is that guy Carlos told us that his mother-in-law had spoken to investigators and said, you know, why did you pick up Carlos? Why did you detain him? Apparently there had been an anonymous tip that the eyes and eyelashes looked like Carlos. This person called in and said, yes, the eyes and eyelashes look like this guy Carlos. That's why he got picked up. That's why he was questioned for hours.

His car searched, his home searched. He was let go. He says he has nothing to do with it. He said, I hope they find the lady. I hope they find the guy that did it. It's not me.

[00:05:06]

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, you mentioned a backpack. There's focus on a backpack. Why is that significant?

WATT: Well, listen, there is focus on anything that might help identify this person from that video. So the clothing obviously, also the mannerisms, the gait, anything that might lead people, lead investigators to the suspect. And obviously, you know, tracking down, OK, where did he buy that backpack? Finding out what stores sell that backpack, even if he bought it in cash, perhaps they could narrow down when it was bought and they would find some surveillance video to show that person.

So, you know, that video is really key right now in terms of this investigation. But listen, it is, you know, 11 days now and really that's pretty much all they got as far as we know.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And in terms of that 11 days you've been watching a lot of this on TV like the rest of us are. You were here with us in the studio last night.

WATT: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Our colleague Ed Lavandera has been out there. It's your first day out there. I'm curious how it's different on the ground, seeing it up close and personal versus the rest of us who have been watching this on TV.

WATT: Yes. You know, one thing I was asking myself over the past few days is like, how could somebody drive into a neighborhood and kidnap an 84-year-old lady without anybody noticing? Now that I'm here, I understand why. Obviously, we've got TV lights up. Without these TV lights this neighborhood is dark, black at night. There are no street lights.

All of the houses are kind of behind undergrowth. You can easily see how neighbors wouldn't see a thing, particularly at that time in the morning. You know, there's undergrowth between all these houses. And as I say, no lights. This is a very -- it's not remote. It's a subdivision. It's -- but there's not a lot of light and there is -- there are big gaps between the homes. So now I understand how this could have happened, how somebody could have driven into this neighborhood, and taken Nancy Guthrie without any of her neighbors realizing -- Elex.

MICHAELSON: And that's one of the reasons why people love living in a neighborhood like that, is that they can see the stars, which you couldn't see in a place like Los Angeles. But then the danger of that is what we are seeing right now as well.

WATT: Sure.

MICHAELSON: Nick Watt, reporting for us from Tucson. Nick, thank you so much.

WATT: Thank you, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Joining me now live is CNN law enforcement contributor and retired FBI supervisory special agent Steve Moore.

Steve, welcome back to THE STORY IS. We've been talking every night about this case. You say it's significant that, what Nick just said that they're still out there after dark working this thing.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, because, I mean, I see him going back, back to Annie's house and Nancy's house and things like this. And I wonder in the back of my mind, is it just because you've got 40 or 50 evidence response people sitting around in hotels and you want to give them something to do? But if they're running two shifts on this, there is something they're looking for. They have -- somebody has a theory of this crime and how it was committed.

MICHAELSON: When we talked last night, it seemed like everything was moving in the right direction. They got the video out. They -- the Bitcoin letter, the, you know, they seem like they had somebody that they were interested in. And then today kind of felt like there wasn't as much activity.

MOORE: Right. Right.

MICHAELSON: What does that do to the morale of the investigators out there?

MOORE: That's going to depend on how much credibility they gave to that lead last night where they picked up the individual down in Rio Rico, I believe. I suspect that there wasn't a lot of energy behind that one because what that was, was a tip that Nancy was going in and out of this house. They ran the tip. They looked at the guy who lived at that house and said, could be. But I don't think they had anything else. I don't think he was on their radar. So you can't ignore that. But if you notice, the FBI didn't send a whole troop of agents down there.

MICHAELSON: Yes. When we've seen these sort of things and when they really get their guy, it is amazing the amount of people. I remember being in Boston when they finally got the Boston Marathon bombers.

MOORE: Yes.

MICHAELSON: And just seeing the cavalry of law enforcement when they finally got their guy.

MOORE: Exactly.

MICHAELSON: That was not what we were seeing last night.

MOORE: No. MICHAELSON: So you mentioned Annie's house. They keep going back to

Annie's house. A reminder that Annie is where Nancy Guthrie had dinner with her the night before she disappeared.

MOORE: Right.

MICHAELSON: But why so much focus there? What do you read into that?

MOORE: Somebody has got a theory of the crime that involves that house. There is no investigative reason that based on the information that I see out there right now indicates that they should still be looking at Annie's house.

[00:10:07]

That's not the crime scene according to every bit of evidence that we have. So I have to go back to the fact that they have something else and part of that something else is they probably have cell phone tracks. They probably have all sorts of data points that they're researching right now based on those cell phones. There's something that gives them a suspicion that something was going on outside of Annie's house.

MICHAELSON: Today Erin Burnett talked with Harvey Levin of TMZ about this new letter that Harvey received with a very interesting demand. Watch this.

MOORE: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ FOUNDER: The letter essentially says, I've tried to get in touch with Savannah's brother and sister to no avail and that they sent it to us then, and they said, if they want to get the name of the individual who is involved in this kidnaping, send the Bitcoin, send -- give us a Bitcoin through this address and they say time is more than relevant. That's the way it ends. Time is more than relevant. We have sent this on to the FBI and to the sheriff's department. And that's all we have heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Does that sound like BS to you?

MOORE: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

MICHAELSON: Yes.

MOORE: I think that's a pretty succinct way of saying it. I think somebody else has now got them a wire fraud case going and they'll be easy to find probably like the last one was. You know, the FBI has a $50,000 reward. If you know the name of the person, why don't you just go get it from the FBI instead of committing wire fraud and extortion?

MICHAELSON: Simply put. Steve Moore, thank you for your insight night after night. It's been really, really helpful.

MOORE: Thanks.

MICHAELSON: We appreciate it.

MOORE: Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: We want to remind people, if anybody has got any information, we're going to keep putting this number up there. This is the Pima County Sheriff's Department phone number on your screen. 520- 351-4900 or you can contact the FBI directly either via phone or their Web site.

We are getting new information on Canada's deadly mass shooting. Authorities say an 18-year-old with a history of mental health issues allegedly killed eight people on Tuesday. The suspect's mother and stepbrother were found dead at the family home in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Six people, mostly children, were killed at the school from which the suspected -- the shooter dropped out of four years ago.

Authorities have not found a note from the suspect, and it's too soon to speculate on motive. Canada's prime minister shared his condolences in parliament.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: 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)

MICHAELSON: More than two dozen people were also injured in the attacks and flags across Canada are at half-staff.

More now from CNN's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEP. COMM. DWAYNE MCDONALD, BRITISH COLUMBIA ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: Upon arrival, there was active gunfire and as officers approached, the school rounds were fired in their direction.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, 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, TUMBLER RIDGE SENIOR: The alarm went off that I've never heard before and our principal goes throughout the halls and she was saying, people close your doors, lockdown, 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 realized how serious it really was.

NEWTON (voice-over): The town's high school was in lockdown. Students barricading themselves in classrooms. The local journalists conveying the terror now rippling through the small town.

TRENT ERNST, LOCAL JOURNALIST: I talked to a concerned parent 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.

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's 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 suspect's home several times for mental health emergencies and firearms offences.

[00:15:04]

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 describe the community as stricken as Canada enters a full week of official mourning.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: President Trump is making it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he'll keep pursuing diplomacy with Iran. The two leaders met in the White House on Wednesday to discuss the issue, but Israel is skeptical the talks with Tehran will work. President Trump is now suggesting that last week's talk with Iran, which he initially called very good, have been somewhat inconclusive. But he posted on Truth Social that both sides have agreed to keep talking.

During his visit, Netanyahu also met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and announced that Israel will join President Trump's Board of Peace.

With me now is Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Welcome to THE STORY IS

AARON DAVID MILLER, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Thanks for having me, Elex.

MICHAELSON: What's your big takeaway from the meeting?

MILLER: You know, this is the seventh meeting, right? In the first year of the second term of an American president. I worked in every administration from Jimmy Carter to Bush 43, and you could toss in Obama and Biden. No American president has seen an Israeli prime minister more frequently for more -- for more time than Trump and Netanyahu. So in a way these meetings are really never determinative.

Netanyahu seems to become part of the political furniture, and both Netanyahu and Trump have a stake, I think each for their own reasons, in making sure that the meeting was good. That doesn't mean that there was a fundamental agreement. I think Netanyahu clearly is uneasy and worried that when you negotiate and the negotiators Kushner and Witkoff may well think there's more promise in these negotiations.

I think Netanyahu is fundamentally opposed to any deal that the Iranians would agree to, and would much prefer more pressure, economic pressure, more sanctions, disruption of Iranian oil exports, and yes, probably sustained military strikes by the United States. So, again Trump isn't interested in that right now. Next week, he might be. But I think, you know, the president is in a box, right?

I mean unlike all of his predecessors, he essentially encouraged protesters who are already in the streets, seized your institutions, help is on the way. We're going to hit them hard.

MICHAELSON: Right.

MILLER: And he faces a sort of a dilemma now to strike, to preserve his credibility. And what would a strike ultimately do? And I think he's concerned about that. So he's -- right now it's risk aversion. Next week it could be risk readiness.

MICHAELSON: There's an interesting situation going on because President Trump right now is more popular in Israel than Benjamin Netanyahu. How does that change the equation, the leverage for Netanyahu in his meeting with Trump?

MILLER: Great, great question, Elex. And the reality is, you know, it's not 2015. It's not the Obama administration where the prime minister of Israel came here, invited by John Boehner, to address a joint session of Congress, tried to end run Obama on the Iran nuclear deal, didn't succeed, but then he had a higher court of appeals called the Republican Party. He does not have that now because Donald Trump, MAGA outliers, critical of Israel notwithstanding, Donald Trump owns this party. And the truth is, maybe to say that he owns Benjamin Netanyahu is too

strong. But the reality is Netanyahu needs Donald Trump to secure his real and, in my judgment, paramount objective this year, which is to get reelected. He needs Trump as an active campaigner, and he needs to be in sync, as you put it, Elex, with a guy, an American president that's far more popular in Israel than right now Benjamin Netanyahu. So the leverage right now, it's all Trump.

MICHAELSON: And Trump is pushing for a pardon for Netanyahu, because if he isn't reelected, he could end up dealing with criminal charges after all which is another wrinkle to this whole thing.

[00:20:07]

So behind the scenes, what do each of them want? What does Trump want out of this? What does Netanyahu want out of this?

MILLER: Well, first of all, you know, Donald Trump's single achievement in his first year, implementation of the first phase of the Gaza agreement, the freedom for 20 hostages that were living, the return of 28 dead ones, 2,000 Palestinians released and the war that we watched since October 7th, which is now morphed into something else, it's clearly not a ceasefire. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes against Hamas military positions and commanders, but the war that claimed thousands of Palestinian lives is basically over.

Trump needs to maintain at least the notion that, in fact, phase one could end up becoming phase two. And he's going to need Netanyahu's cooperation for that. And as I mentioned before, Netanyahu really needs Donald Trump, not as a passive bystander, but as an active proponent. And the fact is, an American president addressing the Knesset, turned to the president of Israel and said, why not pardon this guy?

Then wrote a letter basically recommending or suggesting that a pardon take place. That's the kind of Donald Trump that Benjamin Netanyahu needs. It won't be determinative, but Trump cannot be perceived to be running against him or Netanyahu perceived to be mismanaging the U.S.- Israel relationship. That's cost more than one Israeli prime minister his tenure.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Aaron David Miller, world renowned expert in this space and big Michigan fan, thank you so much for joining us. And go Blue.

MILLER: Too kind, Elex. And great questions. Thanks so much.

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to you.

A bill that would impose strict new voting requirements is now heading to the Senate. We take a live picture from Washington, D.C. at 12:21 a.m. there. The Republican controlled House passed the SAVE America Act on Wednesday. It would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to vote, like a birth certificate or a passport.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Added tonight in what is part of the SAVE America Act is the second piece, the very common sense requirement that you have a photo I.D. if you're going to vote. So that's it. That's what the bill does. Proof of citizenship and photo I.D. to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Democrats are expected to block the bill from making it through the Senate. They argue it could disenfranchise legitimate voters and restrict voting access.

Well, speaking of Capitol Hill, sparks flying there at least in one hearing as U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi testified before the House Judiciary Committee. The questions that prompted the loudest shouting matches just ahead. Plus, former co-stars battle it out in court over sexual harassment allegations. What's next in this seemingly never- ending lawsuit involving actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:27:40]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: With this antisemitic culture right now, she voted against a resolution condemning --

(CROSSTALK)

REP. REBECCA BALINT (D-VT): Do you want to go there, Attorney General? Do you want to go there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time belongs to the gentleman from South Carolina.

BALINT: Are you serious talking about antisemitism to a woman who lost her grandfather in the Holocaust?

BONDI: Texas from Cuba, convicted homicide, arson, weapon offense.

REP. JASMIN CROCKETT (D-TX): Convicted. So what are we talking about? Convict some of these perpetrators that raped these women that are sitting tonight --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time belongs -- time belongs to the gentleman from Kansas.

CROCKETT: -- that you refused to even acknowledge they are here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: No, this was not a segment produced by the late Jerry Springer. This was the actual congressional hearing today where the attorney general of the United States, Pam Bondi, clashed repeatedly with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers had questions about the Epstein files, political

prosecutions, accountability for ICE. Bondi had lots of deflections and a whole lot of insults that seemed to be aimed to one particular audience member.

CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BONDI: 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 asked 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 -- 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: Twice. No. Can I finish my answer?

JAYAPAL: I'm going to -- no. I'm going to reclaim my time because I asked you a specific question --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The attorney general can answer -- the attorney general can respond to the 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 onto 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started.

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: You don't tell me anything --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did tell you, because we saw what you did in the Senate.

BONDI: -- washed up loser 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're going to answer the question the way I asked it. How many have you indicted?

BONDI: Chairman Jordan, I'm not going to get in the gutter with these people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe you just lied under oath. There is ample evidence in the Epstein files --

BONDI: Don't you ever accuse me of a crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe you --

BONDI: If they could maintain their composure. This isn't a circus. This is a hearing.

REID: Now despite the 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, she literally had a binder full of insults in front of her, ready for each individual person.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, at least some of them, airing their frustrations over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files. You saw some of it there.

Some are pushing back on the DOJ's claim that it doesn't have enough information to pursue additional charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): One of the things that's sad to me is how many

people have been implicated, not necessarily in committing rape or abuse, but in being willing to invest with Epstein after he was a convicted pedophile, go to his island after he was a pedophile, and how in America we seem not to want accountability.

Other countries, they're having accountability. The British monarchy, the British government, Norway. Here, let's just be honest. Some of these people are -- fund our nonprofits, fund universities, or are in positions of power.

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): I have personally lost all faith in our justice system. It is a system of injustice. There is evidence there are coconspirators. There is no effort, none at all, to prosecute predators in the Epstein cases. And it's devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Nancy Mace, Republican there, not running for reelection in the House.

Meanwhile, the head of L.A.'s Olympic coordinating committee is going to stay in his post, despite revelations in the Epstein files that he exchanged racy emails with Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago.

The board overseeing the games say that they have reviewed Casey Wasserman's past interactions with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice. The review found that their relationship did not go beyond the revealed emails.

The committee issued a statement saying, in part, "The Executive Committee of the board has determined that based on these facts as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful games."

By the way, Wasserman is in Italy representing LA28 right now.

The head of Instagram says he does not think users can be addicted to the popular social media app. But Adam Mosseri testified Wednesday that the problematic use is possible and compared it to watching too much TV.

He is the first executive to testify in a landmark social media trial underway right here in Los Angeles right now. The lawsuit alleges that YouTube and Instagram's parent company, Meta, intentionally developed addictive features to hook young users at the expense of their well- being.

The case could serve as a test of whether social media giants can be held responsible for claims that they have harmed users' mental health.

Actor Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively will likely go to trial in May to settle their legal battle.

Baldoni's attorney says no deal was reached after the two sides met for their court-ordered settlement conference in New York.

Lively is suing her "It Ends with Us" costar and director for sexual harassment. She alleges that Baldoni coordinated a plan to destroy her reputation during the film's production.

Baldoni strongly denies those claims.

Still ahead, colorectal cancer is increasingly affecting younger people. My next guest is sharing his experience getting screened to help raise awareness, especially in the Mexican American community. Gustavo Arellano is here live. We'll talk to him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:39:45]

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

Investigators are searching through rough terrain, looking for any clues in the apparent abduction of Nancy Guthrie. The FBI was seen near her Tucson area home on Wednesday.

A "New York Post" reporter saw agents picking up a black glove about a mile and a half away. It's unclear if authorities believe that it's the same glove worn by the person seen in Guthrie's doorbell camera video.

Canada is mourning the eight lives lost in a mass shooting. Six people, mostly kids, were killed Tuesday at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia.

The suspect has been identified as 18-year-old Jesse van Rootselaar, who dropped out of that very school four years ago.

The suspect's mother and stepbrother were found dead at the family home.

Voting is underway in Bangladesh. This is expected to be the first free election since a Gen Z rebellion toppled the prior autocratic regime.

Many voters are unhappy with the frontrunners. One party leader belongs to a political dynasty that has long dominated Bangladeshi politics.

The other is an Islamist whose party has no women candidates.

Well, tributes are pouring in for actor James van der Beek, who died on Wednesday at age 48. He was most widely remembered as the star of the '90s teen drama "Dawson's Creek."

He announced in November of 2024 that he was fighting stage three colorectal cancer. In recent months, he was open about the financial burden his treatment had put on his family, auctioning memorabilia from "Dawson's Creek" and his role in the movie "Varsity Blues." A post on van der Beek's Instagram page on Wednesday reads, quote, "He

met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There's much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity, and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now, we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend."

Van der Beek's diagnosis helps to raise awareness about colorectal cancer. My next guest is Gustavo Arellano, a columnist with "The L.A. Times."

He wrote a piece about his experience getting a colonoscopy. You see it right there: "I Got a Colonoscopy for my 47th Birthday, and the Results" which we will get to later. He will actually reveal them live here on THE STORY IS.

Gustavo, thanks for being here. We already had you booked to talk about this. And then this horrible news about James van der Beek reminded us of why this is so important.

GUSTAVO ARELLANO, COLUMNIST, "L.A. TIMES": Yes, it really gets to why I wrote this. It's not so much about me. It is that there is an epidemic of colorectal cancer with young people, to the point where the United States government in 2021, they recommended that colorectal screenings not start at 50, but starting at 45.

MICHAELSON: Yes. Because you think about James van der Beek dying at just 48. And -- and beloved in this town.

ARELLANO: Oh, my, God. Yes. I mean, I didn't -- I was not a fan of "Dawson's Creek," but I loved Varsity Blues. I loved him on social media.

And then when I heard that he had that, so young and dying. And then it reminded me, of course, of Chadwick Boseman --

MICHAELSON: Right.

ARELLANO: -- who also passed away. So, you're having these titans, these real talents --

MICHAELSON: Right.

ARELLANO: -- young, dying. So, yes. And hopefully, with these tragedies, though, it convinces more people to do that screening. The earlier, the better.

MICHAELSON: And Chadwick Boseman, of course, "The Black Panther," fought this for years privately. We didn't even know that he was battling cancer until afterwards, as we look at him.

And so, you know, this -- all this, you went to get a colonoscopy. What happened? What was your experience?

ARELLANO: I had read so many horror stories about getting the colonoscopy: that you're behind would basically explode, and all this grossness; that you'd be like, it was just so, like, vile. I have to say, it is the most overrated experience ever, in the sense

that it was so peaceful. It was so easy. And more importantly, it is so essential for people to get something so easily done.

MICHAELSON: And so -- and we're looking at some people getting the procedure part of it also was what you went through. You brought some of what you went through.

ARELLANO: Oh, yes. So, the most overrated thing is this big, huge bottle. It's a four-liter bottle. It's called the prep. And so, you're supposed to drink it. Three liters over three hours, eight -- eight- ounce glass of water or the liquid every 15 minutes.

People say it tastes like gasoline. I don't know. They gave me some powder. It tasted like citrus. Citrus blossom water. I wish I could have poured some mezcal in it. You could have made a great cocktail. But no, they're not going to allow it.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

ARELLANO: So, after you drink it, nature happens. And it's not anything that doesn't already happen, you know?

MICHAELSON: Right.

ARELLANO: And that -- the whole point of it is to cleanse your gastrointestinal system so that, then, the doctor can do a colonoscopy and see what's inside, completely clear.

MICHAELSON: And so, you write in your column that they found three polyps, which then there was supposed to be a biopsy for. You did not reveal the results, because you hadn't gotten them back yet. You just got them back. What were the results?

ARELLANO: World exclusive to CNN. Benign.

MICHAELSON: Oh, great. Great.

ARELLANO: And thank God. No, I mean -- and what I wrote in the column was that I -- you know, I just turned 47. And at 45 my doctor said, hey, you should get a colonoscopy. And I just put it off because, you know, 45. Oh, yes, I'm still going to live for a million years. I don't need to do anything with myself.

[00:45:04]

And then when I got my physical this past time around in November, my doctor said, Hey, remember that colonoscopy that you skipped out on and the take-home test? You should really do it.

And thank God I did it as recent -- like, just two weeks ago. Because originally, it was scheduled for September, and they said you could stick with our, you know, in-care system, or you could go to third party out -- you know, outside the system.

And I went with the earlier one. Because one of the polyps was ten millimeters wide. That's the point where gut doctors start getting concerned. It could have gotten bigger. So, thank God I did it.

MICHAELSON: So, let's put this graphic up full screen, so we can really focus on it. And this is missing colorectal cancer screening.

In the Hispanic community especially those with limited English proficiency, 65 percent are missing their colorectal screenings. In black households, it's 42 percent. In white households, it's 39 percent. This is a big problem in your community. Why?

ARELLANO: Exactly. And I didn't really know this until I did research for my columna (ph). And the American Cancer Society, and specifically Mexican American men, which is what I am. Mexican American men get screened at lower rates than Cubans, than South Americans and Central Americans. Only 49 percent.

And they accuse, you know, systematic racism, lack of this. Honestly, though, I would say on our end, we just think we're going to live forever. People want to say, oh it's machismo. They don't want to touch your butt. No, it's not that.

And you know what, though? The more you hear these stories, I think that when you hear and people demystify it, more people are going to try it.

So, by doing this column for "The L.A. Times," I've gotten a lot of emails from people saying, Hey, you know what? Thank you for demystifying it. I want to do it.

And I also heard tragic stories of people saying they didn't get screened. They now have stage four, and some people even died in their 30s. So, this makes it even more personal for me.

MICHAELSON: Really important message. Thank you for sharing. Not everybody would. And I hopefully -- that this segment helps to demystify it and inspire some people to get screened and hopefully save some lives.

Gustavo, always great to see you. And we can check out Gustavo's work at LATimes.com.

ARELLANO: Gracias.

MICHAELSON: We'll be right back. More of THE STORY IS, including a look at what's happening at the Olympics, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:51:55]

MICHAELSON: Another jam-packed day for the Winter Olympics in Milan- Cortina, Italy.

France clinching the gold in the figure ice dancing event Wednesday, pushing out Team USA. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates settled for silver, while Canada took home the bronze.

On the slopes in women's moguls skiing, it was a one-two punch for Team USA. American Elizabeth Lemley claimed the gold medal, with her teammate Jaelin Kauf getting silver and France claiming the bronze medal.

In Beijing, it is winter sports fever. Since the last Winter Olympics there four years ago, China has been working hard to shape winter sports into an economic success story.

CNN's Mike Valerio reports from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Winter sports in China absolutely booming, whether you're an Olympian or a beginner like me.

Why? Well, it's the success of the 2022 Winter Olympics here in Beijing, and also a deliberate effort by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to get millions more people out on the slopes.

VALERIO (voice-over): In a remarkable shift, shredding on China's halfpipes went from niche to nationwide in just a few years.

Even in the subtropical megacity of Shenzhen, China now boasts the world's largest indoor ski resort.

In Beijing, coaches are seeing more first timers on the chairlifts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Yes, there have been more, gradually increasing. Because skiing is now quite supported as a sport.

VALERIO (voice-over): Supported by Xi himself, who said, quote, "Ice and snow are as valuable as gold and silver."

VALERIO: So, Beijing isn't pushing winter sports just for fun. It's turning this into an economic, driver trying to boost domestic spending in an otherwise slowing economy. All right, let's go.

According to a government report in 2016, consumers spent about 55 billion U.S. dollars on winter tourism in sports across China. The number has now more than doubled in about a decade to $140 billion.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: It is crystal clear that when you give an Olympics to a certain country, especially a country that has not been known for winter sports, that over the next several decades, its interest is going to explode.

VALERIO (voice-over): Universities are now adding trips to the slopes for newcomers to get into the swing of winter sports, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: During the ski season, they usually organize trips every week -- two nights, two days of skiing every weekend.

MICHAELSON: There's also the fashion. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Both of us are bright snow leopards. Our combination is called "tomato scrambled eggs."

VALERIO (voice-over): Even cute butt pads for those who know they're going to fall.

But beneath all the enthusiasm, some of the facilities built for the 2022 Olympics have already seemed to fall into disuse, even amid China's winter sports fever.

An Olympic legacy and economic policy now an increasingly popular habit carved across China.

VALERIO: Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Mike looked great. Didn't even need the cute butt pads.

Stay tuned for the next hour when we show you how Olympic pin trading works, and hear from some of the traders who are in Italy for the Winter Games.

[00:

Stay with us. More of THE STORY IS right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:59:49]

MICHAELSON: The Buddhist monks who walked 2,300 miles across nine states in a walk for peace are now in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, they walked from Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Memorial, capping off their self-described spiritual journey.

The group left Fort Worth, Texas, in October. They braved brutal winter storms, icy roads, and at times walked barefoot --