admin

Lead On Feb. 20, 2026, reporters visited the Academy @ Shawnee, a magnet middle and high school in Louisville, Kentucky, to assess Jefferson County’s new bell-to-bell cellphone ban. The district’s approach—students keep phones locked in Yondr pouches or otherwise stowed during the school day—aimed to boost engagement and reduce distractions. Early results show clearer classroom … Read more

Lead William Foege, the American epidemiologist widely credited with developing the surveillance-and-containment strategy that helped end smallpox, has died, an obituary in The Times reports. His work in field epidemiology and later leadership at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shaped modern infectious-disease response. The campaign he helped design contributed directly to the last naturally … Read more

Lead On Feb. 16, 2026, humanoid robots from multiple Chinese startups performed martial-arts routines, choreographed dances and gymnastic moves at the Spring Festival Gala in Beijing, an event watched worldwide. Videos from the gala circulated widely online and showed markedly smoother, more dexterous machines than the wobblier demos seen a year earlier. The display prompted … Read more

Lead The Florida Senate has approved a bill dubbed the “Teddy Bridgewater Act” that would let high-school coaches use up to $15,000 of their own money to directly support student-athletes with food, transport and recovery services. The measure passed the Senate but still requires approval in the Florida House and the governor’s signature to become … Read more

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson extended his unbeaten professional run Thursday with a first-round TKO over Hugo Lezama in the main event of Mexico Fight League 3 in Monterrey, Mexico. Steveson, 25, ended the fight at 3:50 of Round 1 after repeatedly taking the 37-year-old Lezama to the mat and finishing with heavy ground strikes. … Read more

Lead: This week the Wisconsin Assembly voted 95-1 to opt into a federal option extending postpartum Medicaid from 60 days to 12 months, clearing a final procedural hurdle before Gov. Tony Evers is expected to sign the measure. The move ends a long-standing hold by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who had resisted bringing the bipartisan … Read more

Lead: President Donald Trump told attendees at a White House Board of Peace meeting in Washington, DC, that the world will know “over the next, probably, 10 days” whether talks with Iran produce a diplomatic settlement or prompt U.S. military action. He said the negotiations have been “very good” but historically difficult and warned that … Read more

In January 2025 on Austria’s highest peak, Grossglockner, an experienced mountaineer identified in court as Thomas P was found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter after his partner, Kerstin G, died of hypothermia. The verdict, delivered by Judge Norbert Hofer, imposed a five-month suspended sentence and a €9,600 fine. Prosecutors said severe conditions, including winds up … Read more

Lead: Quinn Hughes emerged as the unlikely single-game savior for Team USA on Wednesday in the men’s Olympic quarterfinals, scoring the sudden-death winner to beat Sweden and keep the Americans alive. The win followed a late tying 6-on-5 goal by Mika Zibanejad that forced overtime, and it finished after a decisive three-on-three period. Hughes logged … Read more

Lead Who: Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic competitions. When: Friday, 20 February (UK time) with follow-up highlights through Sunday, 22 February. Where: Venues across Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo; all times below are UK (GMT). What: Key finals include men’s freestyle halfpipe, women’s ski cross, biathlon mass starts and multiple medal matches; British athletes are in contention … Read more

Lead On Feb. 19, 2026, Blue Owl Capital said it would change redemption mechanics for one of its private-credit funds, removing investors’ ability to request a fixed quarterly payout and leaving quarterly distributions at the firm’s discretion. The announcement drove Blue Owl shares lower—the stock finished the day down 6 percent after an intraday drop … Read more

On Feb. 19, 2026, U.S. military aircraft were scrambled after multiple Russian long-range aircraft were detected near Alaska. NORAD reported two Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35 fighters and an A-50 surveillance plane in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone; U.S. F-16s and F-35s, supported by KC-135 tankers, escorted the formation until it left the area. Officials … Read more

Lead: Baz Luhrmann’s concert film EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert reintroduces Elvis Presley as a live, combustible musical force rather than a two-dimensional icon. Released amid a decade-long resurgence of Presley portraits, the film draws on 69 boxes and 59 hours of previously unseen 1969 rehearsal and concert footage restored by a Peter Jackson–affiliated team … Read more

Lead Images of non-functional dummy units for Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro have appeared online ahead of the company’s Unpacked event next week, offering a first in-person look at styling and case design. The photos, shared to social media and distributed to stores, emphasize a new metallic plate on the outward-facing … Read more

Lead The National Governors Association (NGA) withdrew from an annual White House gathering this week after President Donald Trump declined to invite two Democratic governors, undercutting a rare bipartisan forum in Washington. Trump is still expected to meet with governors on Friday, but the session will not be facilitated by the NGA, an organization founded … Read more