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FBI Confirms All Three Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Are Fake, Upending the Case’s Central Kidnapping Narrative
TUCSON, Ariz. — The FBI has determined that all three ransom notes circulated in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, are fraudulent, a bombshell development first reported Tuesday by Reuters that strips away the central kidnapping-for-ransom narrative that has dominated five months of public coverage and family appeals.
An anonymous FBI official told Reuters the FBI assessed the authenticity of two ransom notes reported in early February, just days after Guthrie vanished, and a third, more recent ransom note that claimed to know the identities of her kidnappers.
“None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine,” the FBI source told the publication.
A second law enforcement source familiar with the matter confirmed the FBI’s assessment that the ransom notes were not genuine. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, and the FBI did not elaborate publicly on the specific methods used to reach its conclusions.
The revelation fundamentally reshapes the publicly understood picture of what happened to Nancy Guthrie after she was last seen at her Tucson, Arizona, home on the night of Jan. 31. The Guthrie family, responding to what they believed were genuine communications from kidnappers, made repeated public pleas to the alleged abductors in the weeks following her disappearance, with Savannah Guthrie telling them in one video message posted to social media, “we will pay.” Those appeals, posted alongside her siblings Camron and Annie Guthrie, were premised on the assumption that the ransom demands were real and that Nancy Guthrie was alive in the custody of those who had taken her. The FBI’s determination that all three notes were fabricated removes that premise entirely.
The first note, reported by TMZ, demanded a sum of cryptocurrency in the millions, setting two deadlines for payment on Feb. 5 and Feb. 9. TMZ also reported receiving nearly a dozen emails from the same man, with the first email sent just days after the abduction, saying he would divulge information in exchange for one bitcoin. The following day, the same sender wrote again saying time was “no longer of the essence,” suggesting Nancy had died after being taken to Mexico.
According to the FBI official who spoke to Reuters, investigators determined that the first two notes originated from the same sender, though the methods used to establish that connection were not disclosed. To test the authenticity of the first note and potentially identify those responsible, the FBI deposited a small amount of cryptocurrency into the account specified in the message. Those funds remained untouched and were never withdrawn, a finding that became a key piece of evidence supporting the conclusion that the sender had no actual connection to Guthrie’s disappearance.
The second note claimed Guthrie had died and was “buried in nature,” sources close to the investigation told NewsNation’s Brian Entin. That note, which was sent to KOLD, the NBC News affiliate in Arizona, had previously been described by NBC News as potentially credible, citing three people familiar with the situation. The FBI’s determination that it too was a fabrication represents a significant reversal from how the correspondence had been characterized in media coverage over the preceding weeks.
The third and most recent note was an email sent to TMZ claiming the sender possessed video evidence of the alleged abductor and of Guthrie on the day of her death, along with information that could identify the kidnappers. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had publicly expressed skepticism about that communication before Tuesday’s FBI determination, voicing doubt about its authenticity on a local radio station shortly after it surfaced.
“People who call in fake ransom notes, people who claim for the sake of media and the family, they get out and disturb, in this case, an entire neighborhood,” Nanos said.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the overall investigation in coordination with the FBI, declined to comment directly on Tuesday’s findings. Sheriff’s spokesperson Angelica Carrillo referred all questions about the ransom notes to federal authorities and confirmed only that the investigation remains active.
“We don’t have any updates, other than this is still an active investigation,” Carrillo said. She added that DNA samples and video evidence collected during the investigation remain under forensic examination.
With the ransom note narrative now formally closed by the FBI’s determination, the case returns its focus entirely to the physical evidence collected at the scene of Guthrie’s disappearance. Authorities have confirmed that blood found on the front porch of her Tucson home belonged to her based on DNA testing. Surveillance footage recovered from a doorbell camera, retrieved from corrupted backend server data after the camera itself was tampered with, showed a masked individual approaching the property in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, shortly before Guthrie’s pacemaker app recorded a disconnection from her phone at 2:28 a.m. A separate piece of DNA evidence, recovered from a glove found near the home that resembled the one worn by the masked figure in the footage, failed to match any profile in the FBI’s national CODIS database, prompting investigators to pursue genetic genealogy testing as an alternative path toward identification.
No suspects have been publicly named or arrested in the case. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie’s location or to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The Guthrie family separately offered an additional $1 million reward, bringing the total to $1.1 million. Neither the FBI nor the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has publicly confirmed whether Guthrie is believed to be alive, and Savannah Guthrie herself has acknowledged the possibility that “she may already be gone” while continuing to hold onto hope publicly.
The case has drawn national attention for months, driven in large part by Savannah Guthrie’s visible public role as a sitting anchor at one of American television’s most watched morning programs. Her repeated on-air appeals for information, continued even as she maintained her professional duties at the “Today” show, kept the case in the public eye throughout the investigation’s most active stretch, including during Tuesday’s broadcast when she again referenced the family’s $1 million reward and described the ongoing ordeal as one of “agony.”
With all three ransom notes now formally dismissed as fabrications, investigators face the sobering challenge of pursuing a case that has produced significant physical evidence, including blood, video footage and a DNA sample, but has yet to yield a named suspect or confirmed account of what happened to an 84-year-old woman nearly five months after she vanished from her home in the early hours of a February morning.
Speaker Mike Johnson tells Maria Bartiromo he met with the president to discuss the bipartisan housing bill which will lower housing costs by cutting regulations, fulfilling GOP promises.
Home listing prices are declining at the fastest pace in at least nine years as sellers adjust to a slower market and look to attract buyers.
The national median asking price fell 2.5% in June compared with a year ago, declining to $430,000 based on the latest data from the Realtor.com monthly housing market trends report.
June marked the eighth consecutive month of price decreases, and the 2.5% asking price drop was the deepest annual decline in the history of the data set, which dates back to 2017.
“Sellers are reading market conditions and are pricing accordingly from the start rather than listing high and cutting later, and buyers are taking note and making bids,” said Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale.
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Home listing prices fell at the fastest annual rate since 2017, Realtor.com data showed. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The report found that for a buyer who bought a $430,000 home in June with a 20% down payment and an average mortgage rate of 6.49%, the typical monthly payment was $2,172.
That figure is about $132 less per month, and more than $1,500 less per year, than what the typical buyer owed in June 2025, which had a median price of $440,950 and an average mortgage rate of 6.82%.
Another notable metric suggesting the affordability pressures in the housing market are easing is that the typical home listed for sale is spending the same amount of time on the market as it did a year ago, holding steady at 53 days.
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Pending home sales have grown for more than half a year. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Pending home sales also rose 3.7% year over year through June, which marked the seventh consecutive month of growth despite the share of listings with a price cut shrinking by 1.9 percentage points to 18.8%.
Other economic indicators were little changed in June, as mortgage rates settled around 6.5% and Federal Reserve policymakers unanimously held the benchmark federal funds rate steady at its current range of 3.5% to 3.75% amid elevated inflation readings.
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New homes listed for sale have risen over 2% in the last year. (David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It was a no-news-is-good-news June,” said Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel. “While it may seem obvious now, this was far from a foregone conclusion just a few months ago.”
Sellers have also increasingly moved off the sidelines amid the price declines in a sign of confidence that they’ll find a willing buyer, as new listings increased 2.4% from a year ago.
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“Unlike last year, sellers are willing to take a slight haircut to move, and buyers get a little relief on price to offset rates that settled higher than hoped,” Krimmel said.
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America is getting ready to celebrate the July 4th signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago. Here’s what President Reagan said to the Republican National Convention in 1980, on the eve of his landslide victory over President Carter.
“Can we doubt that only a Divine Providence placed this land, this island of freedom, here as a refuge for all those people in the world who yearn to breathe free?”
Reagan loved to talk about freedom. It’s a wonderfully powerful word.
So is the most important sentence in history from the Declaration of Independence, that we “are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
I keep coming back to this because it’s so important. And I keep thinking about freedom and free-enterprise, I keep thinking about liberty and limited government, the rule of law and private property, free market competition, and individual incentives.
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They all go together. They all underscore the greatness of American core values and our economy. We reward the entrepreneurial spirit and the risk takers who define it. It’s so important.
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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has agreed to pay $600 million and enter into a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) after admitting it failed to prevent tens of thousands of illegal product sales into the U.S. through its online marketplaces.
The DOJ announced Wednesday that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its U.S.-based payment processor, AUS Merchant Services, will pay a combined $600 million to resolve allegations they failed to stop merchants from selling and importing illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, regulated chemicals and pill-making equipment through Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com.
As part of the agreement, Alibaba admitted that between January 2016 and December 2024, roughly 80,000 unlawful product sales involving imports into the U.S. violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and other federal laws.
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its U.S.-based payment processor, will pay a combined $600 million to resolve recent Justice Department allegations. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File / Getty Images)
The company acknowledged those transactions generated more than $200 million in gross merchandise value.
Court documents say the company failed to fully incorporate certain wire transfer data into its transaction monitoring system, causing it to miss some high-risk transactions. In at least one instance, a merchant continued selling prohibited products to U.S. buyers after AUS investigated and reported the seller.
Federal investigators conducted more than 40 undercover purchases of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical counterfeiting equipment that were illegal to import into the U.S., the DOJ noted.
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AUS Merchant Services, formerly known as Alipay U.S., also admitted shortcomings in its anti-money laundering compliance program.
According to court documents, the company failed to fully incorporate certain wire transfer data into its transaction monitoring system, causing it to miss some high-risk transactions. In at least one instance, a merchant continued selling prohibited products to U.S. buyers after AUS investigated and reported the seller.
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“Companies operating online marketplaces — whether based in the United States or abroad — must implement appropriate safeguards to prevent bad actors from exploiting their platforms,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a statement. “If they fail to do so, the Department will hold them accountable.”
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Allegations included failing to stop merchants from selling and importing illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, regulated chemicals and pill-making equipment through Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com. (iStock / iStock)
Alibaba said it cooperated fully with the Justice Department’s investigation and has agreed to strengthen compliance measures governing products sold by third-party merchants on its e-commerce platforms.
“Alibaba reached a mutually satisfactory resolution with U.S. regulators on bringing stricter compliance to the sale of products in the United States by third-party merchants on its e-commerce platforms,” an Alibaba spokesperson told FOX Business on Wednesday. “This settlement reflects a thorough regulatory process with Alibaba’s full cooperation and our commitment to best-in-class standards of control, policies, and measures against non-compliant product sales.”
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Under the agreement, Alibaba will pay a $125 million criminal penalty and forfeit $200 million, while AUS Merchant Services will pay an $85 million criminal penalty and forfeit $190 million.
Both companies also agreed to strengthen their compliance programs and continue cooperating with federal investigators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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More than 13,000 air conditioning units were recalled for posing fire and burn hazards, as Americans attempt to stay cool during a heatwave for the Fourth of July weekend.
Texas-based Daikin Comfort Technologies Manufacturing, Inc. issued the recall last week for about 13,514 Amana Window-Room-Air-Conditioners and Through the Wall air conditioners or heat pumps sold nationwide, as well as about 53 that were sold in Canada.
“The heating element can remain energized during a ground fault, despite being turned off, posing a risk of fire or burn injury to consumers,” the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
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More than 13,000 air conditioning units were recalled for posing fire and burn hazards. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
No injuries have been reported thus far in connection with the products, but the company received one report of plastic on the unit melting.
The products are white, with the brand name printed on most of the units’ control covers. The model number is located on a white sticker on the front edge of the units’ base plate.
Recalled units have a model number beginning with PB, AH or AE.
No injuries have been reported thus far in connection with the products, but the company received one report of plastic on the unit melting. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
The units were sold through direct sales and heating and cooling dealers nationwide from April 2025 through December 2025 for between $850 and $1,500.
They are typically installed at hotels, apartment buildings and commercial spaces.
Consumers are urged to stop using the recalled products immediately and contact Daikin Comfort Technologies Manufacturing, Inc. for a full refund.
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The units are typically installed at hotels, apartment buildings and commercial spaces. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The recall was announced ahead of a dangerous heatwave that began to intensify through much of the central and eastern parts of the U.S.
About two-thirds of the country is expected to be exposed to the extreme heat during the Fourth of July weekend, according to The Weather Channel.
South Korea’s Kospi — home to many companies involved in AI infrastructure buildout — fell almost 6%, pulling the MSCI Asia Pacific Index down 1.2%. SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. each fell more than 8% in Seoul, while Kioxia Holdings Corp. tumbled 14% in Japan after a blistering rally that had sent the stock up more than 650% this year. Also hurting Korean chipmakers is news that Apple Inc. is in negotiations to purchase chips from two Chinese semiconductor makers.
The moves came after Wall Street benchmarks dropped on Wednesday and a gauge of semiconductor stocks sank 6.3%. US equity-index futures fell 0.2%, indicating more losses are in store for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 indexes.
Markets found some stability as crude oil extended its decline, with Brent falling 0.8% to $71 a barrel, the lowest level since Feb. 26, as flows through the vital Strait of Hormuz climbed. Treasuries held their losses, while gold rose for a second day after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said price risks have come down in recent weeks.
Warsh repeated his determination to bring inflation back to the US central bank’s 2% target. Speaking at the European Central Bank’s annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, Warsh said inflation expectations had moderated over the past month. He also reiterated the Fed’s commitment to restoring price stability, reinforcing expectations policymakers are in no rush to raise interest rates.
Several new developments weighed on the technology sector.
News that Meta Platforms Inc. is developing plans for a cloud infrastructure business that would sell access to AI computing power and models fueled concerns the company may have overbuilt its capacity.Also, Apple’s negotiations to purchase chips from two Chinese semiconductor makers raised concerns that the competitive edge enjoyed by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix may be eroding.
While the selloff in semiconductor stocks continued to drive sentiment in the equities market, investors took some comfort from Warsh’s comments and other central bankers suggesting inflation risks have become more balanced. Attention now shifts to the US jobs report on Thursday for fresh signals on the policy outlook after Warsh’s remarks damped expectations of a July rate increase.
“At a minimum, his comments provided no fuel for speculation on a near-term July rate hike, and in our view suggest the new Fed chair – while keeping all options open meeting by meeting – does not currently see cause for an immediate hike,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore.
Meanwhile, US manufacturing expanded for a sixth straight month in June as the war-driven surge in input costs eased, adding to signs the economy remains resilient. Printing, electrical equipment and textiles led gains, while paper products, furniture and wood products contracted.
“Overall, the report points to continued resilience in the manufacturing sector and supports our view that the US economy is reaccelerating, with growth remaining on track to reach approximately 2.4% this year,” said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James.
Elsewhere, US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held positive discussions in Qatar and progress is being made on technical talks with Iran, according to a senior administration official, as the countries seek to turn an interim peace deal into a permanent end to the war.
Working groups have been formed by Tehran to discuss the implementation of the current agreement and negotiate a final peace deal, though no talks have taken place yet, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.
“We are on the optimistic front on geopolitics,” said Mohit Kumar of Jefferies. “It is not that we feel that we will have a comprehensive deal. It’s likely to be more of a fudge. But as long as the Strait remains open and oil keeps flowing, market is likely to get de-sensitized around geopolitics.”
The founders of local executive search firm Lester Blades have sold their 24-year-old business via a management buyout by two current partners.
Brent futures were down 73 cents, or 1.02%, to $70.84 a barrel by 0102 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 83 cents, or 1.21%, to $67.75 a barrel.
In the previous session, both benchmarks fell more than 1% to their lowest levels in four months.
Sources said negotiators for the U.S. and Iran spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and unfreezing Iran’s funds.
Though traffic has partially resumed, the two countries exchanged strikes last weekend following an Iranian attack on a cargo ship.
Iran is determined to win international recognition of its control over the strait even if it has to do so by force, two senior Iranian sources said. Tehran has repeatedly said it will impose tolls on shipping starting in mid-August, after a toll-free period specified by the initial agreement expires.
Tanker traffic through the strait has started to recover, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance saying oil flows through the waterway had returned to pre-war levels, without citing figures. As the strait stays open and crude oil flows out, competition for market share keeps pushing oil prices down, and there are growing expectations of oversupply, Haitong Futures said in a note.
Adding to supply at a time of falling oil prices amid the gradual reopening of the strait, sources said on Wednesday that OPEC+ oil-producing countries will likely agree to a further hike in their output targets from August when they meet on Sunday.
The target will increase by about 188,000 barrels per day for August, the same as for June and July, the sources said.
In the U.S., crude inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels to 408.4 million barrels last week, the lowest level since September 2018, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
The draw, however, was smaller than analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a drop of 4.5 million barrels.
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