Savannah Guthrie sat down for her first interview since her mother disappeared.
It has been over 50 days.
In an emotional and tearful talk, Savannah shares her raw grief and her family’s ongoing pain.
During her first interview since her mother’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie explains that she and her family are in agony. (Image Credit: NBC)
This is her first interview since this nightmare began
On Wednesday, March 25, The Today Show aired its first heartbreaking clip of Savannah’s first interview since her mother’s abduction and presumed death.
The clip shows her speaking with longtime friend and colleague Hoda Kotb, both women in tears.
“Someone needs to do the right thing,” Savannah expresses in the preview video.
“We are in agony,” she adds, referring to herself and the rest of her family, including siblings Annie and Camron, all of whom feel as though they are in limbo. “It is unbearable.”
Emotional, Savannah adds: “And to think of what she went through.”
As the interview preview continues, we can hear more as the longtime anchor describes her state of mind for the past 53 days.
“I wake up every night — in the middle of the night every night,” Savannah reveals.
“And in the darkness I imagine her terror and it is unthinkable,” she describes.
“But those thoughts demand to be thought,” Savannah emphasizes, “and I will not hide my face.”
She then affirms: “But she needs to come home. Now.”
A horrified Hoda Kotb holds back tears as longtime friend and colleague Savannah Guthrie speaks about where things stand. (Image Credit: NBC)
The full interview will contain much more
Back at the anchor desk, Hoda speaks to her colleagues.
The tone could not be more somber.
“As you’ll see in these coming days,” she tells the others, “she talks about the investigation. She talks about her faith.”
Hoda explains to the others that Savannah’s hope is that someone has or will see something.
And, of course, that this person will then say something.
Carson Daly, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, and Al Roker sit at ‘The Today Show’ desk to discuss a very serious topic. (Image Credit: NBC)
We want to emphasize that, officially, Nancy Guthrie has not been declared dead. This is a missing persons case.
However, we’re talking about an elderly woman who has been missing for over 50 days.
Investigators believe that she was kidnapped in the night.
She is also without her daily medication.
Whatever happened and whenever it happened, many believe that the best that Savannah and her loved ones can hope for is to lay their mother to rest. And, perhaps, to get justice for their mother.
A tearful Savannah Guthrie urges someone out there to do the right thing. (Image Credit: NBC)
Why hasn’t someone come forward?
It is possible that Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper accidentally killed her during the course of the kidnapping.
(Most experts seem to agree that this person was an amateur hoping to make easy money by targeting a vulnerable elderly woman.)
It is also possible that she died due to medical reasons, such as lack of access to her daily medication.
Either way, the kidnapper has likely tried to remove any trace of involvement — and has probably either gone to ground or skipped town entirely, or whatever is least conspicuous.
Either way, they know that turning themselves in — or even releasing a tip on where to find Nancy — would be the end for them.
Unless this person slips up or police find a sudden lead, the Guthrie family might never receive the closure that they need.
Now, we’re receiving new information about the fateful night of her arrest.
Police bodycam footage shows Taylor’s victim, then-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, asking police to arrest him instead.
Bodycam footage from Taylor Frankie Paul’s arrest shows her very intoxicated and upset. (YouTube)
That obviously didn’t happen, and the video also shows the rest of the incident and highlights the fact that police basically had no choice but to take Taylor into custody.
Cops who responded to a neighbor’s call on the night of February 17, 2023 determined that Taylor was the “primary aggressor,” and she eventually pled guilty to assault charges.
ABC cast her as the Bachelorette despite that history, and if video of Paul assaulting Mortensen had never surfaced, the network almost certainly would have aired her season in its entirety.
The video from the night of her arrest shows Taylor heavily intoxicated and highly upset.
At times, it’s difficult to make out what she’s saying. She admits to hitting Mortensen but also alleges that he “pushed” her.
In footage shot by Dakota, we saw Taylor hurling kitchen barstools at him, one of which allegedly struck her daughter, Indy, who was just 5 years old at the time.
“You can hear me trying to check on [Indy], but every time I tried to help her, I was getting attacked,” Mortensen tells officers in the bodycam footage. “So I couldn’t.”
Elsewhere in the footage, an officer asks Mortensen if Taylor urinated on herself, adding that it’s “very common” for domestic violence victims to “pee themselves.”
“If she peed herself, it’s because she was so intoxicated,” Mortensen explained.
Taylor Frankie Paul’s arrest video has left fans shocked. (YouTube)
Taylor’s parents also arrived on the scene and made their case to police, but to no avail.
“Is it super bad?” Paul asks the officers about her potential legal troubles as they inspect her damaged home in aftermath of the fight.
“Well, no one’s dead, so it’s not super bad, right? But it’s not a good thing, it’s definitely not a good thing,” one of the officers replies, adding:
“It’s not the end of the world. You will get past this, trust me. I would use this as a really good learning lesson. If you need to get some help for any issues, get it.”
Earlier this week, Taylor lashed out at the public for making such a big deal about her arrest and forcing her daughter to “relive” the night in question (the night when her mother threw a barstool in her direction).
We can certainly see why she would want to leave this night behind her.
But it would be good for Taylor to acknowledge that she screwed up royally and that she probably never should have been cast as the Bachelorette to begin with.
A polling place sign at the State Office Building in Juneau on Aug. 15, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska House of Representatives passed an elections bill aimed at streamlining the state’s voting process and updating the voter rolls with a bipartisan vote on Monday. If signed into law, the bill would implement a new ballot tracking system, provide paid postage for all absentee mail-in ballots and implement provisions for faster election results, among other changes.
The House passed Senate Bill 64 by a 23 to 16 vote on Monday evening, with Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks, absent. Three members of the House minority caucus joined the majority in supporting the legislation: Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, and Rep. Jeremy Bynum, R-Ketchikan.
Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, sponsored the legislation as chair of the Senate Rules Committee and said at a news conference on Tuesday the bill was at least a decade in the making and the result of a bipartisan effort.
“We’re going to agree on the things that we can agree on, things that just fundamentally make our elections better. And after 10 years, I think this bill does that,” he said. “It’s not a perfect bill. There are still things that need to be worked on, but this goes a long way towards improving our election system for every single person in the state of Alaska.”
The House made a variety of changes to the bill that the Senate passed last year, and the bill now goes back to the Senate for a concurrence vote on Wednesday. If signed into law by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, some elections changes would be implemented immediately, like a review of the voter rolls. Changes to ballot tracking and curing would go into effect after the August primary.
Lawmakers have focused on updating the state’s voter rolls to make sure voters are currently living in Alaska. Wielechowski said the new system will help the state maintain active voter rolls.
“We have 105% more registered voters than we have eligible citizens in the state of Alaska,” Wielechowski said, calling the discrepancy a “fundamental problem.”
“Everyone in Alaska knows that our elections in Alaska are probably the most difficult elections to conduct in the United States for a variety of reasons, but mostly because of geography, because of weather, because people are just spread out over such a vast area,” he said.
Under SB 64, the Division of Elections would send a notice to confirm address and residency in Alaska if the voter has:
Registered to vote in a another state
Received a driver’s license in another state
Registered a vehicle in another state
Served on a jury in another state
Receives a residential property tax exemption in another state
Receives public assistance in another state
If the bill passes, the Alaska Division of Elections will review the voter rolls and, based on a list of factors, send a postcard by mail to verify a voter’s address and establish residency. Once the notices are sent, voters have a period of 45 days to respond and confirm their Alaska residency to the division — or be moved to an inactive voter list for a period of 28 months or two elections.
Some members of the Republican House minority caucus expressed concern that military members stationed overseas would be kicked off the voter roles.
Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer and a member of the minority caucus, spearheaded the House version of the bill and said that even if voters are inactive, they will still be on a master voter list for eight years, under federal law.
“We cannot cancel, according to federal law, someone off of the master register for eight years. So this includes the military voters,” she said. “But I want to make sure that everyone else understands they’re not going to be inadvertently canceled either.”
Under the bill, voters would be able to show identification issued from a federally recognized tribe to register to vote or for voting. To confirm active voting status, voters would be able to contact the division by calling, emailing or by voting.
Under the Senate’s version of the bill, the state would have done away with the requirement of a witness signature for all absentee mail-in ballots, but the House objected to that change and opted to keep the witness signature.
If passed, the bill would also allow voters to fix mistakes on their ballot – a process called ballot curing — by requiring the division to contact the voter by phone or email within 24 hours. Within two to five days, the division would send notification by mail. The voter would have to return a form to correct the ballot with a copy of identification by email or by mail within 10 days of the election for their ballot to be counted.
If passed, the bill would require the state to provide paid postage for all absentee mail-in ballots. The state would also enact a new tracking system so that voters will be notified when their ballot is received and counted.
Wielechowski said that will help with transparency, as will new provisions to get election results published faster. Additionally, the elections department will start reviewing ballots 12 days ahead of Election Day — five days earlier than under current law — to allow more ballots to be counted on Election Day.
Require all absentee ballots to be received within 10 days of Election Day;
Establish a new rural community liaison position within the Division of Elections to support rural districts, including recruitment and training of poll workers;
Require the Permanent Fund Dividend Division to share data to improve the accuracy of the voter rolls’
Require the state to develop a cybersecurity program, and notify the public if there is a data breach;
Require the division to publish results for all rankings in the precinct results.
Require presidential ballots to include a line for write-in votes for president and vice president
Updates crimes of unlawful interference with an election, ballot tampering and election official misconduct
Wielechowski said the new rural liaison established by the bill would be charged with helping small, rural communities prepare to hold their elections, coordinate equipment and polling places, and hire poll workers to improve operations on Election Day.
“That person is responsible for working with the local villages … working with those communities to ensure that all the citizens are able to exercise their fundamental right to vote,” he said.
“The polls never opened in Wales in 2024 in the primary. The polls in Anaktuvuk Pass in 2024 opened up 30 minutes before closing, and roughly seven people out of about 250 were able to vote in that election in person,” Wielowski said.
The changes to Alaska’s process of voting and elections this year could come amid potential sweeping changes to national elections.
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case that would require all ballots to be received by Election Day in order to be counted for federal elections.
All ballots received after that deadline would be thrown out, which could potentially disenfranchise thousands of Alaska voters who cast ballots that may be delayed by weather, flight delays or election logistics challenges.
“It’s going to create some havoc in our election system, and it may very well require a special session for us to come in and deal with it,” Wielechowski said. “And so you could get in a situation where you have ballots coming in that don’t count for the federal election, but do count for the state election. And so there would have to be some kind of way that you figure out how to process those ballots in a different manner.”
The Supreme Court is expected to rule next summer.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is putting pressure on the U.S. Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would, in part, require voters to present identification and proof of U.S. citizenship in person when they vote.
Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has loudly opposed the bill, saying it’s logistically impossible for most Alaskans, as the state only has six in-person elections offices and fewer than a dozen DMV offices. Republicans U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III have supported the bill, saying they don’t think it would be hard to comply with its requirements.
The U.S. Senate is currently debating the bill amid another contentious debate around funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ending a five-week partial shutdown for the department. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate may drop the voting bill in order to reach an agreement with Democrats over funding DHS, and return to it after Easter, according to reporting by Politico.
If you’re thinking of paying him a compliment on not looking his age, you might want to think again.
Kelly Ripa learned that lesson the hard way this week.
During one tense moment, Howie actually snapped at Kelly, seeming irritated at a run-of-the-mill compliment.
On ‘Live With Kelly & Mark,’ guest Howie Mendel appears to lecture the hosts. (Image Credit: ABC)
Be careful how you compliment people …
No, we don’t know what’s going on here, either.
On the Monday, March 23 episode of Live With Kelly And Mark, eponymous hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos interviewed their guest.
As is pretty normal, they congratulated their guest, Howie Mendel, on his milestone birthday.
(Birthday compliments that comes months late are a little unusual — but not for a milestone like turning 70.)
“It doesn’t make any sense,” praised. This seemed to set off her guest.
“What do you mean it doesn’t make any sense?” Howie demanded, signaling a shift in his tone and demeanor.
Obviously, Kelly’s remark was because it’s hard to believe that a man in such good shape could be 70.
When Kelly was growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, a 70-year-old was someone who keenly remembered prohibition — and they simply did not have Howie’s skin or body or vigor.
Mark chimed int o try to explain, simplifying her statement by telling Howie that it’s because “you look great.”
“That I look great?” Mandel repeated back to him. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
Can you believe that Howie Mendel turned 70 in 2025? (Image Credit: ABC)
How much of this fight is genuine? At least a little, it seems
“No, no, no,” Howie protested. “I don’t like that because that’s a caveat.”
He explained: “’Cause you tell someone you’re 70, and they go, ‘you look great—’”
To his credit, he did seem to crack a smile when Kelly objected to his framing of her words. But it does seem like this comes from a real place, you know?
Mark, truly one of the greatest-looking dudes on the planet, told Howie that they’re “not saying you look great for 70 [years old]. Rather, “We’re saying you look great and I don’t believe you’re 70.”
Howie challenged the hosts to deliver that compliment “without saying ’70.’”
After Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos complimented him, Howie Mendel went off. (Image Credit: ABC)
“No, no. It’s like saying you’re smart for a stupid person,” Howie argued, though it seemed that the absurdity had set in by this point.
The audience cracked up.
Howie leaned into the bit, saying: “‘Oh, you seem smart, you seem smart,’ you see, no, I don’t look good.”
However, he ultimately opted to ease the tension, by simply agreeing that he is “gorgeous.”
Then, Howie revealed the “ridiculous” workout routine that he says has put him in such good shape.
Explaining his fitness, Howie Mendel describes the 1-hour workout that he does every day. (Image Credit: ABC)
This does sound like a great workout
“Your friend, Jerry O’Connell, got me into the most ridiculous workout I’ve ever done in my life,” Howie revealed.
“I swim but have these cables which I tie onto my ankles,” he described, “and then I attach them to whatever is at the side of the pool.”
Howie continued: “Then he gave me these frying pan paddles and I swim for an hour and go nowhere.”
That is a resistance swimming technique, as each brush of his arms requires much more strength to move much more water.
The real secret may be that Howie gets “so lost in it.” The best workout routines are the ones that you can enjoy.
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The avalanche triggered as a group of five descended a slope northwest of Mount McDonell. The fourth person to descend triggered it during the descent at just above 4,400 feet in elevation.
One person was fully buried in nearly 5 feet of snow, and another was partially buried, according to Avalanche Canada’s report.
Someone in the group sent out a Garmin SOS alert about 3:26 p.m., and, according to a media release, Atlin Royal Canadian Mountain Police received it about 310 miles away.
When emergency officials got the call, one person was reported unconscious and receiving CPR.
Atlin Search and Rescue responded with a helicopter and flew out all five people, including the deceased group member. No identities were released.
According to Avalanche Canada, as the avalanche slid, it broke deeper into a weak layer, causing an even larger slope failure toward the bottom. It slid nearly 2,300 feet and spread more than 1,300 feet wide at its base, according to preliminary reports.
Haines Avalanche Center director Jeff Moskowitz warns of deeply cold temperatures that create weak layers in the snowpack, which gett buried with each successive snowfall. One in particular is a persistent weak layer that formed about Feb. 14, he said, and has been called the Valentine’s layer. As the snow piles up on top of it, danger signs are more difficult to see.
The area where the avalanche happened, also known as Rainy Hollow, Moskowitz said has a unique snow climate – particularly when compared with nearby Chilkat or Haines Pass, which is a popular destination for backcountry recreation.
An overview photo of the avalanche taken the day of the incident (Courtesy/Robert Thor Haraldsson, Avalanche Canada)
“Basically, we’ve had these really strong northerly outflows for months, and a lot of the upper pass has been totally windhammered. The snow has been stripped,” he said. “Rainy Hollow has been wind protected, so it was protecting these weak layers as they were getting buried. It’s a unique spot that has overlapping maritime and continental snow characteristics.”
Avalanche Canada rated the area’s danger at “considerable,” which Moskowitz reaffirmed saying that human-triggered avalanches are likely.
Moskowitz said he has seen shooting cracks — a visible fracture in the top of the snowpack — while out in the backcountry. Shooting cracks occur because of weight from above, often caused by skiers traveling on the surface. He has also gotten reports of human-triggered whumpfing sounds, or collapsing, which occurs when the snowpack drops with weight from above.
Moskowitz said that the strong-over-weak layering is “fairly widespread.” This occurs when a cohesive slab, essentially snow layers that are densely packed together either because of settling or to the wind adding load, lies on top of weak, sugary-faceted snow, creating poor bonds between layers.
Such layering occurs when stiff snow, often from snow drifts, sits on top of a layer of sugary snow – or snowflakes that don’t stick together well.
For those traveling into the backcountry, Moskowitz advises to “make conservative terrain choices while the snowpack adjusts, and that could include sticking to slopes less than 30 degrees.” Additionally, he said skiers should carefully assess conditions and layers before committing to steeper slopes and be aware of the high degree of uncertainty.
Since 2012, eight people have died because of avalanches around Haines, in addition to an avalanche partially burying one person.
