Guthrie Investigation, Ghislaine Maxwell Deposition, Seahawks Win Super Bowl LX

0:02Today's show host Savannah Guthrie and her siblings posted a new video saying they received a message from their mother's kidnapper. investigators still have no suspects in the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. I'm Leila Faudil, that's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Members of Congress will question Ghislaine Maxwell today about Jeffrey Epstein and the powerful people in his orbit. She's already serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking minors. What could lawmakers learn from someone still challenging her own conviction? And the Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions, shutting down the Patriots in a defense-dominated game.

0:40But even the fans say it wasn't pretty. We're over the moon, ecstatic, but at the end of the day, this was not a great game. How did Seattle secure the win? Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.

0:58It's another difficult morning for the family of Nancy Guthrie. as the Search for Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother is now in its second week. The Guthrie family says they have received a message from the people who took Nancy Guthrie from her home in Arizona. NPR's Bill Chappell is following the story, and he's with us now. Good morning, Bill. Good morning, Michelle. The Guthrie family put out a new video about their mother over the weekend. What did they say? Right. So Savannah Guthrie posted a video message on Instagram Saturday afternoon. It was really short. And from the start, Savannah Guthrie speaks directly to the people who took her mother.

1:33Here's how it starts. We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. So she went on to say that getting Nancy Guthrie back is the only way her family will have peace. And she said the family is willing to pay for that. In the video, Savannah sits next to her brother Cameron and her sister Annie. Yeah, well, I've seen the video. It's hard to watch, and they do look very distraught. Yeah, I mean, you can only imagine the toll this has taken on them. And as she spoke, Savannah and her older siblings were holding hands. The message implies that the people who took Nancy Guthrie have been in touch somehow.

2:13Do we know anything about that? Yes, there are multiple reports of ransom notes being sent to local media in Tucson. One local TV station, KGUN, said they received a ransom note that demanded$6 million by Monday evening. and that's later today. Police have not publicly confirmed details about ransom in concrete terms, but the FBI that's been working with the local sheriff's department has said that while it's advising the Guthrie family in this case, any decision about whether to pay a ransom or not is up to them. Proof of life also comes into play sometimes when there's a ransom. That's complicated, the FBI says, because for anybody to prove they have Nancy Guthrie and she's okay, there's no way they can tell if AI hasn't been used to create a video.

2:57That could be fake, but very convincing. And this video from the Guthrie family comes a week after they last saw their mother. Right. Nancy Guthrie ate dinner with relatives last Saturday night and then got back home around 9.50 p.m. She didn't show up for church the next Sunday morning, though. And after the family tried to check on her, they called 911. That set off a massive search using tracking dogs, drones, and helicopters. the police who were at her house found that there were drops of Nancy Guthrie's blood on the front porch. And Sheriff Chris Nannos said later that a doorbell camera at the front of the house was disconnected.

3:33He also said Guthrie's pacemaker disconnected from a phone app around 2.30 that morning. And to remind you, we're talking about an 84-year-old grandmother who lives alone in the Catalina foothills north of Tucson. Police say Nancy Guthrie has limited mobility and her family says she also needs daily medication just to survive. And is there any sense that the police have made any progress in this case? Well, on Sunday, the Pima County Sheriff's Department put out an update essentially saying they're still working to find Nancy Guthrie and investigators have repeatedly been seen working in and around the house this past weekend even.

4:06But the Sheriff's Department also said on Sunday that they haven't identified any suspects or people of interest or vehicles that might be connected to the case. And I'll add that for all three of the video messages the Guthrie's have put out since this started, the captions end with the same plea. And to quote, it just says, bring her home. That is NPR's Bill Chappell. Bill, thank you. Thank you, Michelle.

4:37Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking minors for sex with Jeffrey Epstein, is set to be deposed virtually and behind closed doors with lawmakers on Capitol Hill later today. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have called on Maxwell to answer questions about Epstein, his crimes, and the powerful people, including President Trump, who associated with him. Those people include politicians, entrepreneurs, academics, and entertainers. NPR's Scott Newman has been following all this, and he's with us now to tell us more. Scott, good morning. Good morning, Michelle.

5:11Before we talk about Maxwell specifically, would you just tell us what we've learned from the publicly available documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein? So far, there was this huge sort of data dump of documents and people have been combing through them. Right. What we know is that a lot of powerful people appeared in these documents. But in many cases, it's Epstein and someone else making only casual reference to them. In other cases, it's more aspirational with Epstein or someone else discussing a dinner or a meeting with an important person. but no clear indication whether the meeting ever took place.

5:42But there are definitely other cases where Epstein was involved in chatty and sometimes lurid email exchanges. I'll just throw out a few names here. Billionaire Elon Musk, self-help guru Deepak Chopra, author and linguist Noam Chomsky, just to name a few. President Trump and former President Bill Clinton are both in the documents in what appears to be a summary of unsubstantiated allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. And it has to be said that simply appearing in the documents is not an indication of wrongdoing for all the reasons you just cited. But say more about how Maxwell plays into all of this.

6:17Well, in 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of sex crimes in connection with Epstein. She says she met Epstein in 1991, and despite her conviction four years ago, she's continued to deny any knowledge or involvement in Epstein's crimes, including those involving minors. But the Justice Department has described her as a partner in crime with Epstein. Prosecutors have said she helped Epstein recruit and groom girls for massages that often included or led to sexual abuse. And the Department of Justice interviewed Maxwell last year. Tell us more about that. Right. After she was convicted, Maxwell was sent to a low-security federal prison in Florida to serve her time.

6:56But in July of last year, she got an unorthodox visit from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Blanche interviewed Maxwell in prison and according to transcripts of their discussions, parts of which are redacted, Maxwell told Blanche that although she knew Donald Trump when he and Epstein were friends, that Trump never did anything illegal or received massages. Shortly after that, Maxwell was transferred to a minimum security federal prison for women in Texas known as Club Fed. That sparked outrage from some in Congress, with top Democrats criticizing the transfer, saying Maxwell had gotten concierge-style treatment as part of a political deal with the White House.

7:34Well, remembering that Todd Blanch in his previous life was Donald Trump's personal attorney. So what do we expect Maxwell to say? Not much, actually. Maybe nothing at all. She's challenging her conviction in court and isn't likely to say anything that would jeopardize her appeals. Some lawmakers would like to know the names of 25 men who Maxwell said in court papers entered into a secret settlement and were not part of the Epstein investigation. But she's expected to make liberal use of her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. And again, this will all occur behind closed doors and lawmakers will be questioning her over a video link.

8:08That is NPR Scott Newman. Scott, thank you. Thank you.

8:20There's a new king of the hill in professional football, the Seattle Seahawks. Yeah, in Super Bowl 60 yesterday, Seattle defeated the New England Patriots 29-13. It is the second time the Seahawks have won the NFL's title game. Steve Futterman was at the game in Santa Clara, California, and he is with us now. Good morning, Steve. Good morning, Michelle. Awake yet after a late night? Oh, yes. All right. So Seattle was the favorite going into the Super Bowl. Turned out the odds makers knew what they were talking about. They did indeed. You know, Michelle, I've been to many Super Bowls. Some of the games are beautifully played.

8:54They just take your breath away. This was not one of them, especially if you like to see teams score, which most fans do. The key difference maker yesterday was Seattle's solid defense. It held the Patriots scoreless for the first three quarters, but Seattle was also having trouble scoring. Steve, I've got to be honest. I stayed up late, too. I'm not sure it was worth it. So just so explain what happened. Well, the Seahawks were able to drive into Patriot territory, but repeatedly they had trouble getting into the end zone for the touchdowns. Four times Seattle had to settle for a field goal. After three quarters, the Seahawks led 12-0.

9:30That is not a classic contest. Finally, early in the fourth quarter, Seattle did score a touchdown that made it 19-0. Then the Patriots finally started scoring, too. But it was way too late at that point. Now, the Seahawks fans here were elated, definitely. Some of them, like Leon Wexler, though, acknowledged while this was a great moment, it was not a classic game. It will go down in Super Bowl history as one of the worst Super Bowls in history, despite the positive outcome for our Seahawks fans. It's an unbelievable win. We're over the moon, ecstatic. But at the end of the day, this was not a great game.

10:05And I bet the Seattle Seahawks don't care at all. You're absolutely right. Take a listen to Mike McDonald, the Seattle coach, during the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy, he did not sound distraught. I had 100 % confidence. We got the best teams. We got the best fans in the world, 12s. We never wavered, man. We believed in each other. We loved each other. And now we're world champions. Now also elated was the Seattle quarterback, Sam Darnold. His story's been reported quite a bit as the lead-up to the game took place. He was the number three draft pick in the 2018 draft, but repeatedly failed to live up to expectations.

10:45He was considered pretty much what they call a bust until last year. Now he has led his team to a Super Bowl. He was emotional. Me and my dad don't really cry very often. And, you know, I told my dad I was, you know, and my mom, I'm here because of their belief in me. Some people call me crazy throughout my career for believing in myself so much and having so much confidence. But, you know, it was because of my parents. OK, before we go, can't ignore the Patriots. They did have quite a year. Not quite a year. It was an historic year. Last year, they won just four games. This year, they won 17.

11:19They have a highly respected coach, a quarterback. The future seems bright. But any player in the NFL will tell you a lot of things need to go right for a team to make it to the Super Bowl. That is Steve Ferman in Santa Clara, California. Steve, thank you. Thank you, Michelle.

11:38And that's Up First for Monday, February 9th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Leila Fadil. Today's episode of Up First was edited by James Dubeck, Megan Pratz, Russell Lewis, Mohamed Elbertisi, and Adriana Gallardo. It was produced by Ziad Butch and Ava Pukac. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hainas. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

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