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.
February 18, 2026 4:41 am
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bayer has agreed to a proposed $7.25 billion deal to settle thousands of U.S. lawsuits that blame Roundup for causing cancer. Bayer and lawyers for cancer patients announced Tuesday that they were filing the proposed settlement in St. Louis. It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear Bayer’s argument about federal rules and warning labels for the popular weedkiller. That separate case will continue. Bayer says Roundup’s key ingredient of glyphosate does not cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But the company says legal costs have threatened Roundup sales in U.S. farming markets. Bayer bought Monsanto, the original Roundup maker, in 2018.
February 17, 2026 4:39 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As the sun rose in New Orleans, rows of parade-goers already lined the street. People set up chairs, coolers, grills and ladders — offering a higher vantage point to catch the eye of float riders throwing glimmering plastic beads to revelers. Mardi Gras is also known as Fat Tuesday. It falls on the day before Ash Wednesday. The big bash marks the end of Carnival season and a final chance for indulgence and revelry before the Christian Lent period of sacrifice and reflection. New Orleans has the nation’s largest and best-known celebration. Parade-goers will line the streets hoping to catch beads, toys and trinkets unique to each parade.
February 18, 2026 4:40 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery is briefly reopening takeover talks with Skydance-owned Paramount to hear the company’s “best and final” offer, while the Hollywood giant continues to back the studio and streaming deal it struck with Netflix. In a Tuesday regulatory filing, Warner said that Netflix had granted it a waiver to open discussions with Paramount for seven days. Paramount now has until Feb. 23 to negotiate a possible transaction. But in the meantime, Warner’s board is still recommending shareholders support of its proposed merger with Netflix. A special meeting is now scheduled for Friday, March 20 to hold a vote on that deal.
February 17, 2026 6:09 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., have arrested an 18-year-old man after he ran toward the west side of the Capitol Building armed with a shotgun. Capital Police Chief Michael Sullivan said Carter Camacho of Smyrna, Georgia, parked a Mercedes SUV near the Capitol on Tuesday, got out and ran “several hundred yards” toward the building before officers intercepted him and ordered him to the ground. Sullivan says the gunman was wearing a tactical vest and gloves and had a Kevlar helmet and gas mask in the vehicle. The shotgun was loaded and the man had additional rounds on him, the chief says. Congress is not in session.
February 17, 2026 10:44 am
A Washington man is last reported in the Washington County Jail on $10,000 bond after his arrest following a drug bust last week in the City. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh says 38 year old Carl Frey is charged with a firearms violation. A search warrant was served Friday at 600 Penn Avenue with the assistance of Washington Regional SWAT, the District Attorney’s Drug Task Force and Washington City Police. Walsh says it was the result of a months-long investigation. Authorities seized a half-kilogram of Methamphetamine and a semi-automatic pistol. Additional narcotics related charges are pending against others as the investigation by Task Force Detectives continues.
