February 18, 2026 4:04 pm
NEVADA CITY, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say the bodies of eight backcountry skiers have been found and one remains missing after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area of the Sierra Nevada after a 911 call reporting an avalanche Tuesday morning. Six of them were found alive. Heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe. Authorities have told the families the mission has moved from rescue to recovery. They say the eight victims were found fairly close together, and that three of them were found by the skiers who survived.
February 18, 2026 5:46 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Zuckerberg and opposing lawyers dueled in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday, where the Meta CEO answered questions about young people’s use of Instagram, his congressional testimony and internal advice he’s received to be “authentic” and not “robotic.” The plaintiff, a now 20-year-old woman, is seeking to hold social media companies responsible for harms to children who use their platforms. Meta and YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap settled. (Photo: AP)
February 17, 2026 1:22 pm
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby won’t return to Canada’s Olympic quarterfinal game against Czechia after he went limping into the locker room during the second period. Crosby, also the captain for Team Canada, took three hard hits early in the second period. He was favoring his right leg on the ice after being sandwiched against the boards and two Czechia players. He was then seen doubled over on the bench soon after the third hit, then went limping down into the locker room, still favoring his right leg. At the start of the third period, analysts announced Crosby wouldn’t return due to a lower-body injury.
February 18, 2026 3:28 am
Canonsburg was the venue for a public hearing held by the Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee. The hearing was centered on Senate Bill 978 that would require insurance companies and Medicaid to cover prescription protein additives from eggs and peanuts to prevent the development of allergies to eggs and peanuts. A 2015 study called the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) Study conducted by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that early, gradual introduction of eggs and peanuts to children as young as 4 months old cut the rate of those allergies by 81%. State Senator Camera Bartolotta is the prime sponsor of the bill. She says that research conducted by UPMC determined that it would cost one cent per member to institute this policy. That figure is far less than the several hundred dollars that an epinephrine pen costs. Aside from the obvious benefit of largely eliminating egg and peanut allergies, other medical testimony pointed out additional benefits. Dr. Kelly Cleary, Medical Director of the Food Allergy Research & Education Foundation stated that 1 in 3 children are bullied because of their food allergies, sometimes using the food to cause harm. Meenal Lele, CEO of Hanimune Therapeutics pointed to the economic pain caused by food allergies. Her son is allergic to eggs. She said her son that attends school in the Philadelphia School District, does not use eggs in the preparation of French toast because of food allergies. She said that there are 200,000 students not eating eggs that day because of food allergies. She equated that to a large loss to egg farmers in Pennsylvania. Another cost is job restrictions. Senator Bartolotta highlighted the testimony that pointed out that individuals with food allergies are not allowed to serve in the military. The committee chaired by State Senator David Argall is looking to move the bill quickly through the committee in order to hold a vote. No timeline for a vote is available.
February 17, 2026 2:36 am
A Washington County advocate has announced her bid for the Democratic nomination in the 48th Legislative District. Rebecca MacTaggart is a longtime resident of South Strabane Township. She says she is “running on a platform of fair school funding, affordable healthcare, economic opportunity for working families and small businesses, and being intentional about preparing the region for the many changes that are coming at an ever-increasing pace”. Most of MacTaggart’s professional career has been spent in direct, hands-on work supporting individuals with disabilities and behavioral health needs. At Community Living and Support Services she continues this work as a “state-certified” counselor and “helps individuals to maintain their independence in regard to housing, transportation and other necessities”. She also is a “certified investigator” into cases of “abuse, neglect, financial exploitation and rights violations”. She is stressing “a real and lasting plan for school funding” and address “wage stagnation and the rising cost of living”. Republican Tim O’Neal currently holds the seat in the 48th Legislative District. (PHOTO; Rebecca MacTaggart for PA)
February 17, 2026 2:50 am
Lent begins on February 18, 2026, with Ash Wednesday, one of the most sacred days of the year for all Christians. Lent is a 40-day season of prayer and penance meant to help convert the faithful’s minds and hearts back to God. To help do this, Catholics pray, fast, and give alms. Bishop Mark Eckman said: “Lent is a time for us to reduce worldly distractions, focus on prayerful reflection and charitable acts as a means of drawing closer to God, for us to hear His voice. It is his voice that directs us to pray and to take action by serving others in faith and charity.” During Lent, Catholics observe days of fast and abstinence. In the Catholic Church, the obligation of abstinence (refraining from eating meat) begins at the age of 14. The law of fasting (limiting oneself to one full meal and two lighter meals) obliges all between the ages of 18-59. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence in the United States. Individuals who have a medical condition in which fasting may be considered harmful are not obliged to fast, but should perform some other act of penance or charity. Locally, Lent also means fish fries. Locally, Fish Fry Friday’s are being held in Washington at Immaculate Conception Church and St. Katherine Drexel in Bentleyville. (Photo: AP)
February 17, 2026 4:45 am
Investigators in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance say DNA from gloves did not match any entries in a national database. CODIS is a valuable storehouse of DNA taken from crime suspects or people with convictions. Any hits could identify possible suspects in the Guthrie saga, which reached a 17th day Tuesday. The 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson-area home on Feb. 1 after spending the previous night with family. Investigators are also working with experts to try to locate Nancy Guthrie by somehow detecting her heart pacemaker.
February 18, 2026 4:47 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota and federal authorities are investigating claims that immigration officers shattered a Mexican man’s skull while taking him into custody last month. Alberto Castañeda Mondragón says agents yanked him from a vehicle, slammed him down and beat him with a baton. ICE has said the man caused his own injuries when he tried to run while handcuffed and fell. Hospital workers have told The Associated Press that explanation does not match the CT scan and brain bleeding he received. Both St. Paul police and the FBI last week requested surveillance video from businesses in the shopping center where the arrest happened.
February 17, 2026 4:43 am
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — Authorities say the person who opened fire during a youth hockey game at an ice rink in Rhode Island targeted and killed an ex-wife and one son. Pawtucket Chief of Police Tina Goncalves says the victims were the shooter’s ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan. The shooter injured three others during the shooting Monday afternoon in Pawtucket, among them Goncalves says was the shooter’s ex-wife’s parents and a family friend. Police have identified the shooter as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who also went by the name Roberta Esposito. Police say Dorgan died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
February 17, 2026 4:48 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Crews have pushed through mountainous wilderness in California near Lake Tahoe during a snowstorm to rescue six backcountry skiers who survived an avalanche but were trapped by its snow and ice. Nine others from their tour group remain missing. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office says two of the six were taken to a hospital for treatment. The sheriff’s office says there were 15 skiers on the trip — not 16 as initially believed. Extreme weather conditions in the Northern California mountains slowed the rescue effort. It took crews several hours to reach the skiers and take them to safety, where they were evaluated by the Truckee Fire Department.
