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Lead On Feb. 15, 2026 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Team Stars defeated Team Stripes 47-21 to win the final of the NBA’s revamped All‑Star mini‑tournament. Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards was named Most Valuable Player after a tying 3‑pointer in the opening round and eight points in the championship game. The three‑team format — … Read more

Jason Oppenheim and girlfriend Jessica Vargas have ended their romantic relationship, sources tell TMZ. The split was reported on Feb. 15, 2026, with people close to the couple saying they separated about two weeks earlier while both were in Hawaii for a friend’s wedding. Despite the change in status, the pair remain on civil and … Read more

Researchers leading a Cochrane-style review published on 16 February 2026 report that intermittent fasting yields no clear advantage over standard dietary advice for people with overweight or obesity. The analysis pooled randomized trials from 22 studies involving 1,995 adults across Europe, North America, China, Australia and South America and found average weight loss from fasting … Read more

Lead Wunmi Mosaku — nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress for Sinners — told The Sunday Times she has been unable to celebrate the nomination because of the recent killings of two U.S. citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents in Minnesota and the reported kidnapping of a five-year-old boy. … Read more

Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind the viral AI assistant now called OpenClaw, said on February 15, 2026 that he is joining OpenAI. Steinberger announced the move in a developer blog post and framed the decision as a way to accelerate deployment of his agent technology rather than scaling a standalone company. OpenAI CEO Sam … Read more

At the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday the league’s efforts to stop teams from deliberately losing games — a practice known as “tanking” — have fallen short. Speaking on the eve of the NBA All‑Star Game, Silver warned that analytic-driven incentives are encouraging teams to prioritize draft positioning over … Read more

Lead: On Feb. 15, 2026 at Daytona Beach, Fla., Tyler Reddick captured the Daytona 500 driving a Toyota fielded by 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. Reddick edged out the field after a dramatic final-lap sequence in which Chase Elliott, battling for the lead, was clipped and lost control. The … Read more

Lead Lawmakers and the White House showed no sign of compromise Sunday in talks that collapsed into a partial Department of Homeland Security funding lapse, leaving vital agencies operating under a pause in appropriations. The partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s team failed to agree on a DHS funding … Read more

Lead Canada will announce a new defence-industry strategy the week of Feb. 15, 2026 that redirects billions of dollars in military procurement away from U.S. defense contractors and toward Canadian suppliers. The policy, presented by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa, comes amid escalating tensions with the Trump administration, including recent tariffs and political rhetoric. … Read more

California faces a sequence of storms this week that are expected to produce widespread rain, heavy mountain snow, strong winds and hazardous surf. The first system arrives Sunday for Northern California and the Central Coast, with steady Sierra snowfall beginning Sunday night; a second, colder wave follows Tuesday into Wednesday and could bring the coldest … Read more

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi’s Wuthering Heights led Valentine’s Day audiences in North America, posting a strong Saturday and projecting a global launch of roughly $82 million—about $40 million domestically and $42 million from more than 75 overseas markets—while Sony Animation’s surprise hit GOAT threatened to erode its U.S. momentum over the four-day Presidents Day … Read more

Lead: The 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards took place Sunday afternoon, February 16, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium, honoring the year’s standout independent films and television. The ceremony, hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Ego Nwodim, streamed live on YouTube through IMDb and Film Independent beginning at 2 p.m. PT. Early winners included A24’s Sorry, … Read more

Lead: On February 15, 2026, the Israeli government moved to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as state land, a first since the 1967 occupation. The change creates a formal mechanism to record vast tracts in Area C under state ownership. Palestinians and international critics called the step a “de facto annexation,” while … Read more

Lead: In early 2026 U.S. diplomatic posts across Asia actively solicited corporate donations to underwrite a series of celebratory events tied to America’s 250th Independence Day. The activity follows President Trump’s December announcement of a campaign to stage large-scale Fourth of July celebrations. Reports show outreach in Hong Kong, major corporate commitments in Japan and … Read more

In Cortina d’Ampezzo on Sunday, Team GB claimed two Winter Olympic golds in one day as Matt Weston and Tabitha Stoecker won the mixed team skeleton event. The victory followed Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale’s earlier snowboard cross mixed-team gold, making it a landmark day for British winter sport. Stoecker posted a 1:00.77 run that … Read more