Nancy was last seen after family dropped her off at her house. Blood found on the porch matched her DNA, and investigators recovered a mixed DNA sample inside the home. Surveillance footage released by the FBI shows a masked and armed man on her front porch in the middle of the night. A $100,000 FBI reward and a separate $1 million reward from the family remain in place for information that leads to her recovery or an arrest.

The first note, sent on February 2 and addressed to Savannah, claimed her mother was “safe but scared” and would be held for a maximum of seven days. It demanded $4 million in bitcoin by 5 p.m. on February 5. If that deadline passed, the amount would rise to $6 million, due by 5 p.m. on February 9.

The note stated that once payment was received she would be released within 12 hours to a safe drop-off location in Tucson. It warned that if the final deadline was missed she would be killed, adding that her life was in Savannah’s hands and there would be no negotiation. The writer also mentioned specific details about the house, including a white smartwatch on the floor at the foot of the bed and a destroyed floodlight in the backyard.

Four days later, on February 6, a second note arrived addressed to the Guthrie family. The tone shifted completely. “We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition,” it read. “We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart related. She is buried in nature now. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace. We are truly sorry.”

Investigators released the notes just ahead of the six-month mark of the case. They said the writing shows unique patterns of word choice and style that a friend, relative, coworker or acquaintance might recognize. Changes in someone’s mood, appearance, unexplained injuries or an unusual interest in Nancy’s neighborhood could be important clues. Hair recovered from the home has not led to a suspect identification, and authorities have not ruled out that a single person carried out the abduction.

Savannah Guthrie posted an emotional Instagram video on July 27 speaking directly to those responsible. She asked them to do the right thing and help bring her mother home, saying it is never too late. The investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

“Good evening, everyone, I’m Julie Andrews, and I’m pleased to welcome you to the seventh World Parkinson’s Congress,” she began. “Your participation is invaluable as we seek to find a cure to this terrible disease. I know well how devastating it can be. May we all become a beacon of light to stop it in its tracks. Count me in as a red thread. Thank you.”

The clip was shared by the World Parkinson Coalition and played for attendees in Phoenix. Julie has never claimed to have the illness herself, yet her words carried the weight of someone who has watched it touch people she cares about. In that quiet moment she offered both solidarity and hope.

Even at 90 she continues working. Audiences still hear her as the knowing narrator Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton, and her classic performances in Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and The Princess Diaries remain part of the cultural fabric. She is also preparing a new children’s book with her eldest daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. Titled Shy and illustrated by Eva Byrne, the story is inspired by Julie’s own “singing” dog and arrives on August 11.

Mother and daughter have already created several picture books together, and Emma has worked alongside her mother on stage and screen projects over the years. Julie is a mother of five. She shares Emma with her first husband, set designer Tony Walton, and later raised Jennifer, Geoffrey, Amy and Joanna with the late director Blake Edwards, to whom she was married for more than forty years until his death in 2010.

Her brief appearance at the congress was a reminder that some voices never really fade. They simply wait for the right cause to speak again.

She explained that the trouble started with arthritis in both knees and one hip. After having all three joints replaced, she thought the ongoing difficulty walking was just part of the long recovery. But things kept getting harder.

Standing up from soft chairs or deep couches became a struggle, and overstuffed furniture felt like it might swallow her whole. There were stretches when she could not walk without real help from someone else. Her family sensed something deeper was wrong. After a thorough evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, doctors diagnosed her with Parkinson’s.

Treatment began with medication to ease the stiffness and other symptoms. Simon described the illness as unpredictable, saying some days the fatigue hits so hard she can barely get moving while other days she has a bit more room to think, work, and feel like herself. Beyond the physical challenges of movement, balance, and tremors, she noted that Parkinson’s can also bring anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and a strange kind of apathy. She compared that apathy to lying still like a starfish on the beach, with nothing inside urging her to get up or engage with the world. It is not laziness or simple sadness, she said. It is as if the part of the brain that invites a person into daily life has temporarily lost the guest list.

Around the same time she was adjusting to the Parkinson’s diagnosis, surgeons removed the basal cell carcinoma from her face. The cancer was gone, but the operation changed how she looked and left her far more self-conscious about being seen. She has always been her own harshest critic about her appearance, she noted with a touch of irony given the famous song she once wrote, and the surgery gave that inner critic plenty of new material.

All of it mobility problems, the diagnosis, the surgery, and the emotional weight made stepping back from public life feel like the only manageable choice. She compared herself to an all-season bear who hibernates year-round. Yet she insisted she has not stopped living and has not stopped working.

In the middle of everything she began recording a new album called Comes in Waves, her first collection of original songs in 18 years. The record is set for release on August 14. Music, she said, has always known when to show up, arriving like a quiet animal that senses when someone needs company. The songs and unfinished fragments had been waiting for her, some for years. Working on them gave shape to days that otherwise felt formless and reminded her that illness can alter a life without defining every part of it.

Simon was clear that she does not see Parkinson’s as any kind of gift. It is difficult, frustrating, and at times frightening. She is still learning how to live with it without feeling she has given up something essential. She continues writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, and remembering, even if she occasionally finds herself stuck in an overstuffed chair. She expressed deep gratitude to her children, family, friends, caregivers, and the medical team who have carried her through the harder days.

These days she moves more slowly and leans on others more than before. Every day looks a little different. But she is still very much here.

Less than two weeks later, on the night of July 23, a child living in her home called 911 around 11:15 p.m. Officers arrived to find Sara, 43, and her estranged husband Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffey, 48, both dead from gunshot wounds. Authorities say Duffey shot Sara and then turned the gun on himself. A family member identified them. The child was not hurt.

Court records show Sara had already taken steps to protect herself. On June 10 she filed an emergency protective order. Duffey was ordered out of the house and told to stay at least 100 yards away. The order was extended through August 24. In her filing she told the court he had a gun, had threatened suicide, and had gone on the run.

That same day the mother of a 15-year-old girl who played on a youth basketball team Duffey coached filed her own protective order. She alleged Duffey had been caught by another coach kissing and touching her daughter, that he had sent the girl inappropriate messages, invited her to his hotel room during a tournament, and offered her money to stay quiet. A report was made to Owasso police.

Sara had filed two earlier protective orders against him in 2021, but both were dismissed when she did not appear in court. Friends and family remembered her as a devoted mother and the kind of person who lit up every room. She leaves behind two children from a previous marriage.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fox said the decision to act again has “really prolonged my life and made my life interesting in a way that I didn’t think it would be to this point.” He is clear he is not fully retired. “I’m not retired from acting,” he explained, “but if I didn’t act again, it would be for a very good reason. I let Parkinson’s make decisions for me.”

Fox was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s in 1991 when he was just 29. Doctors at the time told him he would probably only have about another decade of acting left in him. He kept the news private for years, continuing to work on shows like Family Ties and Spin City before going public in 1998. Over time he learned to stop hiding the physical realities of the disease and began using them in his performances, finding a kind of honesty that felt freer than trying to conceal everything.

His appearance on Shrinking, where he plays a character living with Parkinson’s who connects with Harrison Ford’s similarly diagnosed doctor, marked the first time he shared the screen with another actor dealing with the same condition in the story.

The experience earned him an Emmy nomination and reminded him how much the work still means. He is already preparing to return for the show’s fourth season, more than 25 years past the timeline doctors once predicted for his career.

Fox has long turned his diagnosis into purpose through the Michael J. Fox Foundation, but this latest chapter shows that creative work itself has become another way he keeps moving forward.

Nancy, 84, has been missing since January 31 after authorities believe she was taken from her Tucson, Arizona home in the early morning hours. A masked figure was caught on her doorbell camera appearing to tamper with it, and she was reported missing the following day.

Whitney read the opening lines of the note aloud during the episode. “Hello, Savannah. We have your mother, Nancy. She is safe but scared. She will be held for ransom, and once payment is received, she will be released unharmed. We will be holding her for a maximum of seven days.”

The note then demanded millions of dollars in bitcoin. Sources previously told PEOPLE the specific amounts were $4 million due by Thursday, February 5, and if that was not met an increased demand of $6 million by Monday, February 9. Whitney continued reading: “Once payment is received to the Bitcoin address below, she will be released within 12 hours of deposit to a safe drop off location back in Tucson.”

The warning grew darker. “If the payment is not received by the last deadline on Monday the 9th at 5 p.m., she will be killed. Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands. It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible. You will not be able to contact me from here on out. There will be no negotiation. Do not play games. Law enforcement will not be able to help you.”

At the end of the note the sender included specific details about Nancy’s home that had not been made public at the time. Whitney explained they mentioned a white smartwatch that was on the floor near her bed at the foot of it and a floodlight in the backyard that had been destroyed.

Whitney noted that the FBI is still investigating whether the note is legitimate. The FBI declined to comment when contacted by PEOPLE, and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it had no additional information to provide.

The revelation of the first note’s full wording comes after earlier reports about a second ransom note sent to the Guthrie family and media outlets that claimed Nancy had died. That second message did not include an apology or any request for payment related to her body.

Savannah returned to the Today show desk on April 6 after more than two months away. She has spoken openly about the pain the family continues to carry. After the second note reports emerged she made an emotional plea on air, asking people to come forward with any information. “This is a new story that today is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live every day. And we are in agony and we cannot be at peace.”

She later told Jenna Bush Hager that she still cries every morning on the way to work and on the way home, yet holds onto both the sadness and the moments of joy for her children and her colleagues.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Born Christopher Anne Boldt in New York City in 1942, she made her unusual first name her own from the start. She was one of the first Radcliffe women to earn a Harvard diploma and chose a life of teaching over higher paying paths. For 35 years she taught fifth and sixth grade in public schools before retiring in 2008. Every student in her classroom, no matter their background, was treated as an equal.

Her commitment to justice ran deep. Influenced by her stepfather Sam, she taught literacy classes in Mississippi during Freedom Summer in 1964 and later marched against the Vietnam War. After retirement she volunteered on Barack Obama’s campaign, organized with the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, and served on the board of the Sustainable Cape project in her home of Truro, Massachusetts. When her granddaughter’s student activist group needed a place to meet, she opened her home and sat through every workshop taking notes.

She and Timothy Affleck raised two sons, Ben born in 1972 and Casey in 1975, before divorcing when Ben was about twelve. Both boys have spoken of her steady support as they found their way into acting. Ben once recalled how a friend of hers who worked as a casting director opened the first door for him almost as a lark. Casey described her as really supportive of their early efforts. She sat beside Ben and Matt Damon at the 1998 Oscars when they won for Good Will Hunting, hugging her son as the moment unfolded in a way that felt simple and unforced.

Her five grandchildren Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin and Sam became the center of her later years. After her diagnosis her greatest wish was to see Atticus graduate high school. She made it, attending the ceremony with her family on May 31. Two days later she was gone.

The family shared the news through a Boston Globe obituary that captured her spirit well. She was proud of her children’s and grandchildren’s achievements, yet happiest when they questioned or cleverly pushed against authority.

When the conversation turned to how he is doing physically, Sheen grew annoyed. “I think my presence answers those questions,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. Pressed further about his finances, he fired back with a line that cut right through the interview. “Would you ask me that question at a dinner party in front of my parents?” Then he added simply, “I’m fine.”

The documentary itself, which Sheen has called a love letter to his father Martin Sheen, is already streaming. He chose director Andrew Renzi because the filmmaker showed no interest in digging through the usual tabloid muck. Sheen said he saw someone who wanted to celebrate the good parts of his story while remaining honest and thorough about the rough stretches.

His brother Emilio Estevez and their father both declined to appear on camera. Renzi even showed them a rough cut of the first part hoping they might change their minds, but it did not work. Martin Sheen’s response was characteristically direct. He told his son he did not need to be in it because the documentary already had the interesting, handsome version of him from earlier years.

Sheen has been open about the long road that brought him to this point. He publicly shared his HIV positive status in 2015 and has stayed sober since December 2017 after years of addiction and seven family interventions. Looking back, he describes the hard partying days as something that belonged to a younger version of himself. “Dope and booze, at those levels, that’s a young person’s game,” he has said. “That’s not for us AARP types.”

These days he talks about sobriety with quiet confidence. He is no longer tied to the people or habits of the past, and he has more than enough evidence that returning to those choices would only complicate everything again. The shame, the deceit, the manipulation simply do not fit into the life he is living now.

The documentary and his recent memoir both dig into the extremes he once chased, the interventions, the messy relationships, and the eventual decision to stay clean for himself and his family. For Sheen, the real story was never about the scandals. It was about finally examining a life that the public has watched unfold for decades, the highs and the lows alike, without flinching.

The former Alaska governor and one time vice presidential candidate recently sat down with the New York Post and spoke candidly about her 2020 divorce from Todd Palin after more than three decades together.

She called the whole experience earth shattering. “It was the most earth shattering bizarre thing I could have ever imagined and it kind of remains so,” she said.

Palin first learned her husband wanted out through an email from his attorney back in 2019. The couple shares five children and while the split was painful she noted that Todd now spends his time with a girlfriend he’s been with for a while.

Meanwhile Sarah has found companionship of her own with retired New York Rangers player Ron Duguay. The 64 year old former hockey star was previously married to supermodel Kim Alexis. Their connection started when Palin reached out to Duguay an old friend for advice during her defamation lawsuit against the New York Times. That case stemmed from an editorial that linked her political group’s statements to a mass shooting and was ultimately dismissed after a federal judge ruled she had not proven the paper acted with actual malice.

As the trial unfolded Duguay became her New York guide. On free days he walked her around the city pointing out spots connected to his old Rangers days. Palin described their relationship as safe and comfortable. “Ron is the first person that I’ve ever even talked to about a lot of this personal stuff,” she explained. “So it’s been helpful and refreshing to have Ron to talk to about not just politics because he’s got more common sense in his little finger than the collective in DC but just about life.”

She also called him really handsome. Duguay has been right there supporting her latest political move too. Earlier this month Palin announced she is running for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House the one long held by the late Rep. Don Young. Former President Donald Trump gave her an early endorsement and she has been busy on the campaign trail. Duguay even flew up to Alaska to help get her yard and property in order while she focused on the race.

This is Palin’s first run for office since she stepped down as Alaska’s governor in 2009. A special primary is set for June with the general election following in August.

Through it all she seems grateful for the steady presence of someone who understands both the public and private sides of her life.

The 54-year-old co-anchor shared the news during Thursday’s July 16 broadcast, telling viewers she’s heading out for the next few weeks to film an entire season of the new Wordle game show.

“We’re about to do it. Guys, I’m headed over to shoot Wordle over the next few weeks,” she said with a big smile. “We’re going to shoot the whole season and we’re super excited. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. It’ll probably air, I think, in the new year.”

Her colleagues were just as pumped. Carson Daly said he can’t wait to watch, while Sheinelle Jones called it full circle, remembering how the whole Today team got hooked when Wordle first took over the show. Craig Melvin kept it real, noting, “We’re going to lose you for a minute, though.”

The official Today Instagram account confirmed Savannah will be off for a few weeks while she films. This project has been in the works for a while. Back on May 11, Jimmy Fallon joined her on the show to make the big announcement. Fallon, who is executive producing, said they had been developing the Wordle game show with The New York Times for two and a half years and were thrilled to have Savannah as host. She admitted they had been keeping the secret for a long time and couldn’t wait to bring the addictive word game to television.

Fallon told her how happy he was that she was the one leading it, praising her as someone who knows how to run a show. Savannah described the upcoming series as super fast-paced and fun, the kind of family game you can watch with kids while they actually learn a few things.

After everything Savannah has been through this year, it’s nice to see her diving into something light and joyful. Viewers will miss her on the morning desk, but the Wordle set is about to get a whole lot more fun.