The Petersburg Post
Top News Stories for Wednesday, February 18th 2026
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
Stephen Colbert isn't backing down in an extraordinary public dispute with his bosses at CBS over what he can air on his late-night talk show. On "The Late Show" Tuesday, Colbert said he was surprised by a statement from CBS denying that its lawyers told him he couldn't show an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico — which the host said had happened the night before. He then took a ...
Source: apnews.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
Authorities announced late Tuesday night that six people who survived a backcountry avalanche had been rescued, though the search remained for nine others who had been swept up in the slide near Truckee. Search and rescue teams worked through a record-breaking storm after the slide was reported about 11:30 a.m. near Castle Peak in Nevada County. The severity of injuries for those who had been plucked out of the ...
Source: bradenton.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
The U.S. military said Tuesday that it carried out strikes on three boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters, killing 11 people in one of the deadliest days of the Trump administration's monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers. The series of strikes conducted Monday brought the death toll to at least 145 people since the administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" ...
Source: cbsnews.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
Australia bans citizen trying to return from IS camp in Syria Australia has barred a citizen linked to the Islamic State (IS) group from the country for up to two years. The person is among the group of 34 Australian women and children who tried to head home after being released from a Syrian camp earlier this week, only to be turned back by Syrian authorities for "technical reasons". The ban was issued "on advice ...
Source: bbc.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
The European Union is going after Shein for hooking customers with what it calls "addictive design." In a press release on Tuesday, the European Commission announced that it had launched a probe into Shein under its Digital Services Act. The Commission said it would investigate Shein for "addictive design, the lack of transparency of recommender systems, as well as the sale of illegal products, including child ...
Source: businessinsider.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
We might have assumed that gravity always remains steady and unchanging. But that might not be true after all. The strength of gravity actually changes from place to place across Earth. Scientists have found that one of the weakest spots is beneath Antarctica. In a new study published in Scientific Reports , researchers state that the "gravity hole" formed due to the rock's extremely slow movements deep inside the ...
Source: greenmatters.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Swipe for next article As of Tuesday evening, there had been more than a quarter million reports of YouTube issues, according to the crowd-sourced site Downdetector has announced that all of its platforms are "are back to normal" after more than a quarter million users reported issues accessing the ...
Source: independent.co.uk
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
The Hollywood star is accused of hitting one man with closed fists and punching another in the nose in the city's French Quarter Reading Time: 2 minutes US actor Shia LaBeouf's Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans allegedly took a violent turn on Tuesday morning, landing him in hospital and facing charges of battery. The New Orleans Police Department confirmed that officers arrested the Megalopolis and Honey Boy ...
Source: scmp.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
Scientists tested the antibiotic resistance of an ancient bacterium found within 5,000-year-old ice layers . According to the study published in Frontiers in Microbiology , the bacterium called Psychrobacter SC65A.3 was extracted from Scărișoara Ice Cave in Romania from about 82 feet below. After testing the strain against 28 antibiotics, the researchers found that it was resistant to 10 of them, across 8 ...
Source: greenmatters.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
A free press depends on people who believe in it. As more outlets cave to the administration's demands to quiet opposing voices, our members enable reporting that holds firm to its values and serves the public interest. Already a member? NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump family company has filed to trademark the use of the president's name on airports but says it doesn't plan on charging a fee — at least for a ...
Source: huffpost.com
Wednesday, Feb 18th, 2026 -
News , via Wikimedia Commons US state trial begins for Georgia father of teenage school shooter The trial for the father of the teenager accused of the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School began Monday, as prosecutors argue the father is culpable for giving his son the gun despite having notice of his son's previous threats. The father, Colin Gray, faces 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder, ...
Source: jurist.org
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
as tributes pour in for Jesse Jackson. The Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, the towering civil rights leader whose moral vision and fiery oratory reshaped the Democratic Party and America, has died , his son said. He was 84. Jackson, a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., had been hospitalized in recent months and was under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy. He died Tuesday morning, ...
Source: aol.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
Warner Bros. Discovery said on Tuesday that it will resume acquisition talks with Paramount Skydance after Netflix, which last year agreed to buy the entertainment company, gave Warner seven days to explore a new offer. Warner Bros. Discovery said in a news release that it would engage with Paramount Skydance (the parent company of CBS News) to discuss the company's $30 per share bid and clarify terms of the ...
Source: cbsnews.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
Veteran American actor admired for his roles in Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird and Tender Mercies "You smell that? Do you smell that? ... Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning," says Robert Duvall as the mad, hawkish, surf-loving Lt Col Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979), Francis Ford Coppola's two-and-a-half hour nightmarish ride ...
Source: theguardian.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
WASHINGTON — An 18-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after he began rushing toward the U.S. Capitol with a loaded shotgun , police said. Officers challenged the man, who was wearing a tactical vest and gloves, and ordered him to drop his weapon, which he complied with, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan told reporters. Sullivan said the man laid down the weapon and then lay down on the ground before ...
Source: nbcnews.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were due to get underway in Switzerland on Tuesday with low expectations of any meaningful progress amid ongoing Russian strikes and Ukrainian counter-strikes. Overnight, at least three people were killed and nine injured in Ukraine after a major aerial assault by Russian forces with 400 drones and 30 missiles targeting 12 ...
Source: upi.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
Billionaire says he exercised 'terrible judgment' in maintaining contact with sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell The billionaire Thomas Pritzker has stepped down as executive chair of the hotel chain Hyatt, after revelations over his ties with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . Pritzker said he had exercised "terrible judgment" in maintaining contact with the sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell , who was ...
Source: theguardian.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is stepping in to stop what it calls an "onslaught" of state-level regulation of prediction markets. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said Tuesday in a video posted on X that the agency has filed a "friend of the court brief" in support of Crypto.com in its escalating legal battle with regulators in Nevada. The move is significant because it marks the first time under ...
Source: nbcnews.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
Bayer said on Tuesday that its Monsanto chemical subsidiary has proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to resolve lawsuits by customers alleging that its Roundup weedkiller product caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma. If the settlement wins court approval, Monsanto would make annual payments for up to 21 years. People diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma who were exposed to Roundup before the proposed legal remedy was ...
Source: cbsnews.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
In an interview at the Munich security conference, Clinton urged the Trump administration to 'get the files out' Hillary Clinton has accused the Trump administration of a "cover-up" over the Epstein files, while claiming that she and her husband are being forced to testify before Congress to deflect scrutiny from Donald Trump. In an interview with the BBC , Clinton said the US Department of Justice was ...
Source: theguardian.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem holds a press conference, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci/File Photo Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got off to an immediately rocky start with the U.S. Coast Guard, according to new in-depth reporting. President Donald Trump's pick to lead DHS angered senior Coast Guard officials by prioritizing deportation flights over ...
Source: rawstory.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
A shooter unleashed a flurry of bullets during a Rhode Island youth hockey game, killing two people and injuring three others, in an attack that was cut short when a spectator stepped in to help stop the tragedy, authorities said. Investigators had spoken to nearly 100 witnesses as of Monday evening as they attempt to piece together what happened earlier that afternoon inside the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, ...
Source: wbur.org
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
A free press depends on people who believe in it. As more outlets cave to the administration's demands to quiet opposing voices, our members enable reporting that holds firm to its values and serves the public interest. Already a member? President Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson by taking a dig at Democrats and former President Barack Obama . Trump started his statement by ...
Source: huffpost.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
GENEVA (AP) — Iran announced the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday for live fire drills in a rare show of force as its negotiators held another round of indirect talks with the United States over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program. It was the first time Iran has announced the closure of the key international waterway, through which 20% of the world's oil passes, since the U.S. ...
Source: pbs.org
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
A free press depends on people who believe in it. As more outlets cave to the administration's demands to quiet opposing voices, our members enable reporting that holds firm to its values and serves the public interest. Already a member? The Trump administration has been sued over from the historic Stonewall National Monument in New York City this month. A lawsuit , filed Tuesday in federal court by a group of ...
Source: huffpost.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
While no immediate danger exists, the companies have been notified and are working on fixes to protect millions of users' password vaults. Bitwarden, LastPass, and Dashlane are less secure than you might expect, at least if you go by the findings of security researchers at ETH Zurich and the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano. They've allegedly discovered serious security vulnerabilities in ...
Source: pcworld.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
Former prime minister Gordon Brown has claimed the Epstein files showed in "graphic detail" how the paedophile financier was flying "in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia" to Stansted. Essex Police are assessing information around private flights to and from Stansted Airport following the release of the Epstein files. Former prime minister Gordon Brown last week called for UK police to "urgently" re-examine ...
Source: news.sky.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
Geek Life: Fun stories, memes, humor and other random items at the intersection of tech, science, business and culture. Seattle-based real estate company Zillow has partnered with the company behind the long-running online game World of Warcraft in order to showcase players' creativity by exhibiting their virtual homes. A new microsite, " Zillow for Warcraft ," allows users to explore an assortment of designs for ...
Source: geekwire.com
Tuesday, Feb 17th, 2026 -
"Large-scale" investigation could result in massive fines. Europe's privacy watchdog has opened a "large-scale" inquiry into Elon Musk's X over AI-generated non-consensual sexual imagery, in the latest sign of how regulators are scrutinizing the social media site's Grok chatbot. Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, said late on Monday ...
Source: arstechnica.com