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Lead U.S.-mediated negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Geneva on Feb. 18, 2026 concluded after a two-hour session, signaling limited progress toward a broader settlement. Officials said some technical matters, including cease-fire monitoring mechanisms, saw headway, but political disputes — chiefly over control of Ukrainian-held territory in the east — remain unresolved. President Volodymyr … Read more

Lead Who: U.S. states and national lawmakers; When: ahead of the 2026 midterm elections; Where: across the United States; What: a wave of mid-decade map changes is reshaping House districts; Result: political control of the U.S. House of Representatives is at stake as partisan mapmaking accelerates in several states. The pace and timing of these … Read more

Lead: The Miami Dolphins face a consequential roster and payroll choice for 2026 involving quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Contract language from 2024 leaves the team owing Tagovailoa $54.0 million that is fully guaranteed for the coming season, while releasing him without a post‑June 1 designation would create a $99.2 million dead‑money charge in 2026. The club … Read more

Defense attorneys from across the United States say they have observed a shift in how the U.S. Department of Justice brings criminal charges and have launched a public database to track cases they view as irregular. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) rolled out a Case Tracker that highlights federal prosecutions with aggressive … Read more

In February 2026, topline results from a clinical trial of retatrutide — an investigational weight‑loss compound developed by Eli Lilly — prompted an unexpected worry: some participants lost so much weight that they withdrew from the study. The trial enrolled 445 people with obesity and knee osteoarthritis and reported an average 28.7 percent weight reduction … Read more

On Wednesday morning, Feb. 18, 2026, a two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul bolted onto the women’s team cross‑country free sprint qualification course at Lago di Tesero during the Milan‑Cortina Winter Olympics. The dog ran along the homestretch before race officials quickly restrained him and returned him unharmed to a nearby bed‑and‑breakfast. Televised footage and social … Read more

Goldman Sachs analysts warn that sweeping immigration restrictions under President Donald Trump’s second term have triggered a dramatic contraction in the flow of foreign-born workers, precipitating roughly an 80% decline from historical net-immigration levels. The bank’s U.S. economics team released the analysis on Feb. 16, highlighting a fall from an average of about 1 million … Read more

Lead One year after subtly confirming her engagement to Tom Holland at the 2025 Golden Globes, Zendaya told Interview Magazine what relationship signals she pays attention to. In a conversation with her The Drama co-star Robert Pattinson, the actor named specific behaviors she finds revealing. Zendaya highlighted how a person treats crew members and animals … Read more

Lead Bunnie Xo, 46, says she and husband Jelly Roll, 41 (born Jason Bradley DeFord), have a surrogate and will begin IVF stimulation as they move to expand their family. The couple — married in 2016 and co-parenting Jelly Roll’s children Bailee Ann, 17, and Noah Buddy, 9 — first began their fertility journey on … Read more

Lead A Reuters/Ipsos poll finds President Donald Trump’s approval on immigration at 38%, the lowest recorded since his return to the White House, as administration deportation operations proceed. The figure marks a drop from 39% in January and far below the roughly 50% approval he held in the weeks after taking office again. The decline … Read more

Lead: A federal judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in the prosecution of nine people accused in the July 4, 2025 ambush outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, after a defense lawyer wore a T‑shirt bearing civil‑rights figures during jury selection. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman said the garment — worn by … Read more

Lead Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet submitted its collective resignation on the morning of Feb. 18, 2026, triggering a formal leadership vote in the Diet later the same day. Takaichi, who became Japan’s first female prime minister in October 2025, heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which after the Feb. 8 House of … Read more

Lead Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify Wednesday in Los Angeles in a landmark trial brought by a plaintiff known as “Kaley,” whose lawyers say addictive design choices at Meta and YouTube harmed her mental health as a child. Dozens of grieving parents, some who heard Zuckerberg apologize in a 2024 Capitol Hill hearing, are … Read more

National Weather Service forecasters in Portland say there is an improving chance of measurable snow for parts of the Willamette Valley beginning Wednesday evening and continuing into Thursday morning. As of Feb. 17, 2026, the NWS assigned roughly a 45–60% chance that somewhere along the I‑5 corridor will receive 1–2 inches of accumulation, with a … Read more

Lead: In a recent ScreenRant video interview, Daniel Radcliffe urged journalists to stop repeatedly asking HBO’s new Harry Potter cast about the original film actors, saying the comparisons risk casting a shadow over the younger performers. The comment follows the announcement that Dominic McLaughlin will play the lead, alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair … Read more