Good to be with you. I’m Tony Dokoupil. We begin with chilling new details in the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother. Authorities say 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Arizona home overnight Saturday into Sunday. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office reports a ransom note was left at the scene and surveillance video from the property has so far been unhelpful. Investigators say a small amount of blood appears on video outside the front door and a trace was found inside the home; DNA testing is under way. The sheriff told our Jonathan Vigliotti the note included specific details about what Nancy Guthrie was wearing the night she vanished. As the search enters a third day, there is no identified suspect. Savannah Guthrie and others have called for prayers and public help as authorities continue to investigate.
In international news, a U.S. Navy F-35 shot down an Iranian Shahed drone over the Arabian Sea after the unmanned aircraft reportedly approached a U.S. aircraft carrier in an aggressive manner, U.S. Central Command said. In a separate but related incident, a U.S. destroyer assisted a U.S.-flagged oil tanker that had been threatened by two Iranian boats and a drone. These confrontations have raised tensions between Washington and Tehran, though the White House says previously scheduled nuclear talks with Iran remain set to go forward.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to sit for depositions with the House Oversight Committee in its inquiry related to Jeffrey Epstein. Officials say those sessions will include on-camera testimony later this month. The release of related files has prompted reactions from survivors and criticism of the Justice Department for failing to redact sensitive information.
From the Oval Office, President Trump again weighed in on elections, saying the federal government should ‘get involved’ — a comment that runs up against the Constitution’s delegation of election administration to the states.
In the South, crews keep working to restore power after a historic mix of heavy snow and ice. Volunteer firefighters in Mississippi have been conducting wellness checks and delivering water and supplies as tens of thousands remain in the dark. About 36,000 homes and businesses in Mississippi have entered a second week without electricity. In Nashville, more than 230,000 customers were affected at the storm’s peak.
Here in the East, another Arctic blast is moving in. Temperatures are expected to drop into the teens and single digits in parts of the Northeast. Chief meteorologist Rob Marciano will report on the deep freeze.
At the White House, the press secretary criticized celebrity performers at the Grammys for what she called demonizing law enforcement, specifically ICE. Meanwhile, relatives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — both killed last month in shootings involving federal agents — spoke on Capitol Hill as local officials in Minnesota say ongoing investigations have raised troubling questions.
NASA announced a delay for the Artemis II mission after a recurring liquid hydrogen leak showed up during a fueling rehearsal. The launch is now expected to slip to March while engineers work to fix the issue on the pad; NASA says it will not fly until the hardware is ready.
In culture and sports: Chuck Negron, lead singer of Three Dog Night, has died at 83. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn says she will compete for gold on Sunday despite tearing a knee ligament last week; she says she will try as long as there is a chance.
And a remarkable story of survival: the Appelbee family, stranded nearly nine miles off the coast of Western Australia after their kayak capsized, was rescued after 13-year-old Austin swam for hours more than two miles to shore. He says he kept going on prayer and happy thoughts. After he reached land and alerted rescuers, crews saved his mother and the rest of the family. His mother Joanne said simply, ‘We made it. We’re alive.’
For all of us here at CBS News, I’m Tony Dokoupil. We’ll be back tomorrow night. Good night.