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Monday, February 23, 2026

'Surreal sight to see': US tourist describes chaotic scenes in Mexico amid cartel violence

Administrator February 23, 2026

Following the killing of one of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpins, a wave of cartel violence has struck fear into U.S. citizens visiting popular tourist destinations in the country.

The Mexican Army on Sunday said it carried out an operation that killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. U.S. officials have described the cartel as powerful as the Sinaloa organization and a major trafficker of drugs into the United States.

RELATED STORY |Mexican army kills leader of powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel during operation to capture him

In the aftermath, cartel gunmen torched vehicles to block roads across the country, prompting many residents to shelter indoors. According to The Associated Press, more than 1,000 people were trapped at the Guadalajara Zoo, afraid to risk traveling home. The U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico has also urged American travelers to shelter in place as roadblocks have impacted airline operations and led to flight cancellations in both Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta — two popular tourist destinations for Americans.

Aaron Mason, news director for the Scripps News Group station in Buffalo, New York, was vacationing in Puerto Vallarta when the killing happened. He said he is safe but described tense and unnerving scenes.

"I was walking into the downtown area yesterday morning and you could see smoke pouring from different points of the city," Mason said. "And then I turned one corner to go to the gym, actually, and that's when I saw flames from a car that was just in the middle of the intersection on fire."

"You saw the smoke — at one point it was so heavy that it was just pouring over the downtown area in Zona Romantica and right onto the beach," he said. "I mean, it was just such a surreal sight to see because this is such a beautiful, peaceful place."

US citizens in Mexico urged to shelter in place after killing of cartel leader

It is believed the operation to target Oseguera Cervantes was done with support from U.S. intelligence. The killing comes as President Donald Trump has urged Mexico to take stronger action against cartels and the flow of drugs into the U.S., threatening tariffs or military intervention if results are not seen.

What could come next in the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance

Administrator February 23, 2026

On the morning of Feb. 1,Nancy Guthriewas expected at a friend's home in Tucson, Arizona, to watch a livestreamed church service, as she did most Sundays.

But when the 84-year-old mother of "TODAY" co-host Savannah Guthrie never showed up, those friends alerted her children — spurring a missing person investigation that remains unresolved three weeks later.

The ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Guthrie, who was last seen around 9:45 p.m. Jan. 31 after having dinner with her family, now involves local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and has garnered international attention. All members of the Guthrie family — including her three children, who havemade pleas onlinefor her return and have said they are willing to pay to get her back, and their spouses —have been cleared as potential suspects in the case, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.

While authorities believe Guthrie was possibly taken from her home, no suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified. DNA from her home does not match any samples in an FBI database, and authorities are still asking for the public's help to identify a man seen in images and videos captured byGuthrie's doorbell camera the morning she disappeared.

Search For Nancy Guthrie After Suspected Kidnapping Continues In Arizona (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Investigators, however, have said the suspect's gun, its unique holster and a backpack — which is exclusively sold at Walmart — could be the best clues and best ways to find answers.

In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Nanos said authorities are getting closer to identifying the other articles of clothing seen in the doorbell camera video, including shoes, pants, shirt and jacket.

While updates in the investigation have slowed, experts told NBC News that officials still have plenty of avenues to pursue as the search stretches into its fourth week.

Identifying a suspect through forensic genetic genealogy

Investigators have identified multiple sources of DNA in and around the crime scene, but testing has yielded no results, leading them to take deeper steps to move the case forward.

A glove was found 2 miles from Guthrie's home that appeared to match the pair that the man in the doorbell video was wearing. The Pima County Sheriff's Department, however, revealed that the DNA found on the glove did not matchany DNAin the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which has 19 million offender DNA profiles nationally and more than 1 million forensic profiles. From Arizona alone, there are more than 434,000 offender profiles in CODIS, according to the FBI.

Officials say they are nowtesting DNA found at Guthrie's home— which did not match her or anyone who was known to be there recently —through a process called forensic genetic genealogyin the hopes of identifying a suspect. The DNA sample is mixed, Nanos said, meaning it contains genetic information from at least two people and could take longer to test.

"We believe that we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won't know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out, maybe admitted to CODIS, maybe through genetic genealogy," he said.

Dr. David Mittelman, a genetic genealogist and CEO of Othram Inc., explained that this process takes DNA — usually found at crime scenes — and first converts it into code. Then it is entered into a database containing DNA samples from a few million people and 500,000 genetic markers.

security footage from nancy guthries nest cam (Kash Patel via X)

From that data, the system creates a family tree based on that person's DNA markers, matching the unknown suspect with potential relatives to narrow down who investigators may be looking for.

While the match is not always exact, Mittelman said that at the very least it will point officials to a close relative of the person whose DNA was tested, narrowing down the suspect pool in a major way. He said this is called an "identity hypothesis."

"So in the worst-case scenario, it'll connect you to a very close relative, and the best-case scenario gets it to your person," he said.

Then, it's up to investigators to identify and question that person to determine whether they are a true suspect.

Mittelman added that it is imperative that investigators carefully obtain enough DNA from the scene and emphasized the importance of working fast to identify a subject early in an investigation.

Othram often works with law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes, including creating the profile forBryan Kohberger, the man who slaughtered four University of Idaho students in 2022. Mittelman declined to comment on whether Othram is working with law enforcement on the Guthrie case.

CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogy expert, said that the process could take from hours to months to complete, but that when results do come in, they will be conclusive. She added that she is "extremely hopeful" that this process will identify a suspect.

"If I was the kidnapper, I would be extremely concerned right now, because using investigative genetic genealogy, he will be identified. It's just a matter of time," she said.

Following leads and listening to the public

Nanos on Sunday characterized the investigation as expanding rather than shrinking, with detectives continuing to process evidence.

The intense public interest in Guthrie's disappearance has helped spur an influx of tips to investigators.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department and theFBI say they have received tens of thousands of public leadssince Guthrie went missing. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for any information that leads to Guthrie or to the arrest of those who took her, andan additional $102,500 rewardis being offered through Tucson Crime Stoppers, known locally as 88-CRIME.

Investigators have said they are already following leads based on gathered evidence, including working with Walmart to identify who may have purchased the backpack seen with the man in the doorbell video.

They have also been trying to track the gun the man was carrying. Firearms expert John Correia said it appeared to be held in a universal fit holster and isn't one an experienced gun owner would use.

Chris Burbank, a former police chief in Salt Lake City, said that if he were investigating the case, he would also allocate resources to investigate unverified ransom notes that have apparently been sent to multiple news outlets. NBC News has not independently verified these ransom notes, and law enforcement has not said whether they are legitimate.

He also said investigators can use artificial intelligence to track any social media leads because "most of the time, people involved in this leave some sort of social media trail."

"We've gathered all the physical evidence, we've done all that I can think of at the scene in the area, now it's time — let's really start combing every other bit of information that exists out there in the world," Burbank said.

The investigation remains far from going cold

Three law enforcement experts who spoke to NBC News all emphasized that while investigators have not made an arrest or found Guthrie, the case is far from going cold.

"I would be really surprised if a case this high-profile gets shelved before six months, a year," Burbank said.

All agreed that officials never want a case to go cold, because the longer the investigation remains active, the more news coverage it will garner, leading to continued attention on the case and, therefore, continued tips and assistance from the public.

A case is considered cold only when all available leads have dried up, and there is no further evidence to analyze. Considering the thousands of leads still available in the Guthrie case, it is not at an immediate risk of being put on the back burner.

At some point, though, once investigators have ruled out all possible suspects, "you're going to start putting your resources elsewhere, because there are other cases that you have a higher percentage of solving," Burbank said.

Anne E Schwartz, a law enforcement communications expert and former journalist who first reported on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's case, added that the public may see "a small, gradual drawdown of resources" once investigators have cleared all leads.

Burbank noted that high-profile cases such as this one will never go 100% cold because there will always be a detective dedicated to fielding calls and resources working in the background to continue solving it.

Last week, Nanos suggested something similar.

"As long as we have the ability to chase a lead, it's not cold," he said. "We're not going to give up. We're going to find Nancy, and we're going to find out who did this."

GoFundMe For Eric Dane’s Daughters Put On Hold After Major Backlash: “Rich People Ask For Money”

Administrator February 23, 2026

AGoFundMecampaign, set up forEric Dane's daughters, was temporarily placed on hold amid online scrutiny.

"Setting up GoFundMes for millionaires. What a time in history," one commented online

TheGrey's Anatomystar passed away on February 19 at the age of 53, less than a year after revealing hisALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)diagnosis to the world.

A GoFundMe campaign for Eric Dane's daughters was temporarily placed on hold amid online scrutiny

Image credits:Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Shortly afterEric Dane's passing, friends and family rallied to support his two daughters, Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 14, whom he shared with ex Rebecca Gayheart.

They were the "center of his world," read theGoFundMepage, which initially had a target of $250,000.

The target was later raised to $500,000 and has currently received about $337,500 in donations.

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"As his illness progressed far more quickly than anyone could have imagined, Eric's friends have come together to create this GoFundMe to support his girls and their future needs," the fundraising page said.

Readers were encouraged to make contributions of any size to "provide stability during this incredibly difficult time and in the future for Eric's wonderful daughters."

Several supporters, including celebrities like Hailey Bieber, donated to the page

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Several supporters, including celebrities, donated to the page.

Euphoriacreator Sam Levinson and his wife, Ashley Levinson, donated $27,000, whileHailey Bieber contributed$20,000.

However, at some point, the fundraiser titled "In Honor of Eric Dane" was placed under review. Organizers said donations would be temporarily held until they confirmed the beneficiaries.

"Our Trust and Safety team is still looking into this GoFundMe and has reached out to the organizer to gather additional information," a spokesperson for the fundraising platform told theSan Francisco Chronicle.

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"All funds are being safely held by our payment processors during this review process," they added.

Following Dane's passing, his friend Mike McGuiness spoke about his friend of "almost two decades" and how he "just left us after a brutal battle with ALS."

"I'm the positive spin guy and can come up with something hopeful in most any situation. This one broke me," McGuiness said.

The fundraiser titled "In Honor of Eric Dane" was placed under review

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The friend said he had nothing to say following the actor's passing.

"It's about as hopeless an affliction one could get," he added. I truly don't know if I could muster grace or dignity in that spot."

McGuiness said Dane struggled due to his health battles and "couldn't leave his family with the resources he had hoped."

"… Covid and ALS did a number on his work life …" he said. "A GoFundMe is being made, and I will post it on my story for anyone able to help. Love the ones you've got."

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Actress Kate Walsh, who was Dane's co-star inGrey's Anatomy,defended the fundraising page, saying people assume that "actors are rich."

"A lot of people (I know in a time when we ask so much of everyone to help with all the things) are under the microscope that actors are rich, but when they go thru these debilitating illnesses they go thru their funds. Thank you for even considering to help," she wrote on social media alongside a picture of Dane with his two daughters.

"Aren't you all supposed to have the money, not us???" one commented online

Image credits:Rob Latour/Variety/Getty Images

Several netizens were skeptical about why the family of a world-famous actor needed to turn to an online fundraiser for support after his passing.

"Why is this becoming a thing? … His net worth was widely estimated at several million dollars. I don't understand why his family needs a GoFundMe," one said.

"At the very least, I can't imagine someone of his stature not having basic life insurance," wrote another.

Another said, "Doesn't sit right that rich people ask for money… gofundme is meant for poor people."

Dane's net worth at the time of his passing was unclear.Celebrity Net Worthestimated the amount to be $3 million.

Image credits:rebeccagayheartdane

After conducting its routine review, GoFundMe released a statement and said the fundraiser has been "verified and the family has been added as the beneficiary."

"GoFundMe's Trust & Safety team was previously working to gather additional information and help ensure the intended beneficiary was added to the fundraiser, as part of our standard review process," GoFundMe confirmed toIndependent.

A similar wave of scrutiny unfolded when a GoFundMe was launched for thefamily of James Van Der Beekfollowing his passing earlier this month.

Loyal fans quickly rallied behind the fundraising campaign, but critics questioned whether the family of a celebrity known for his decades-long career needed donations from the public.

A GoFundMe page created for James Van Der Beek's family also faced similar scrutiny

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The 48-year-old actor used to be open about his financial stress following his diagnosis with stage III colorectal cancer.

He hadauctioned off memorabiliain 2024 from his sports-comedy filmVarsity Blues, in which he played a high school quarterback.

"100% of my net proceeds will go to families recovering from the financial burden of cancer (including my own 😇)," he wrote on Instagram at the time.

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Last year, he raised money to helppay for his colorectal cancer treatment, with help from the auction house Propstore. He reportedly sold collector's items from his filmDawson's Creek, including parts of his wardrobe, props, and set pieces.

"I've been storing these treasures for years, waiting for the right time to do something with them, and with all of the recent unexpected twists and turns life has presented recently, it's clear that the time is now," he toldPeoplein November last year.

HisDawson's Creekco-stars, including Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson, held a one-night charity event in New York last year to raise money for the Van Der Beek family.