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FILE - Xavier President Norman Francis poses for a photograph at the the university, in New Orleans, Nov. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Bill Haber, File)

Norman C. Francis, civil rights champion and recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom, dies at 94

5:05 PM on Wednesday, February 18

Norman C

Argentina's Milei heads to the US again, balancing Trump ties with growing China trade

4:37 PM on Wednesday, February 18

Argentina’s President Javier Milei deepens ties with U.S. President Donald Trump while trying to avoid a break with China, Argentina’s top trading partner

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters at the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WH adviser Hassett urges 'discipline' for Fed economists over tariff study

4:01 PM on Wednesday, February 18

President Donald Trump’s top economist on Wednesday urged that Federal Reserve economists be punished for research last week that showed American companies and consumers paying for nearly all the new tariffs imposed by the White House last year

A woman brushes gold calligraphy onto red paper used for Lunar New Year couplets in Hong Kong, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/May James)

Photos follow the color red through public and intimate spaces during the Lunar New Year

4:00 PM on Wednesday, February 18

FDA will drop two-study requirement for new drug approvals, aiming to speed access

4:00 PM on Wednesday, February 18

The Food and Drug Administration plans to drop its longtime standard of requiring two rigorous studies for new drug approvals

How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday, 2/18/2026

3:28 PM on Wednesday, February 18

The U.S. stock market ticked higher, led by its most influential stock, Nvidia

President Donald Trump speaks as White House pardon czar Alice Johnson listens during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Trump, weeks after backlash over racist post, hosts Black History Month reception

3:22 PM on Wednesday, February 18

President Donald Trump has hosted a White House reception for Black History Month, less than two weeks after he sparked a bipartisan outcry by posting a racist video on social media that depicted former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle

The top photos of the day by AP's photojournalists

3:16 PM on Wednesday, February 18

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Mamdani reboots homeless encampment sweeps in New York City

3:13 PM on Wednesday, February 18

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has resumed the practice of clearing out homeless encampments, saying he has retooled the process

This image provided by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office shows members of a rescue team in Soda Springs, California on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Nevada County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A look at the deadliest avalanches in US history

2:58 PM on Wednesday, February 18

Authorities say an avalanche near Lake Tahoe has killed eight backcountry skiers, and one person remains missing

FILE - Tom Goldstein, who writes SCOTUSblog.com, poses for a photograph in front of the Supreme Court, Oct. 31, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)

Jury to get tax-evasion case against Supreme Court lawyer who became high-stakes poker player

2:10 PM on Wednesday, February 18

A trial is drawing to a close for the tax-evasion case against a prominent Supreme Court lawyer accused of failing to pay taxes on millions of dollars in winnings from ultra-high-stakes poker games

U.S. Coast Guard, Sector Boston, Captain of the Port and Commander Jamie Frederick, right, speaks during a news conference about the commercial fishing vessel, the Lily Jean, that sank off Gloucester, as Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey listens, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)

Authorities are using deep-sea tech to try to find the sunken fishing boat off Massachusetts

2:04 PM on Wednesday, February 18

A coalition of authorities is deploying technology to try to locate the wreck of a fishing boat that sank last month off Massachusetts, killing all seven aboard

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse D-R.I. and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct., center, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

US senators visit key Ukrainian port city as they push for fresh sanctions on Russia

1:24 PM on Wednesday, February 18

A delegation of U.S. senators is returning from a trip to Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV, left, arrives, with bishops and cardinals in a penitential procession marking the start of the Catholic Lent, at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, where he will preside over Ash Wednesday Mass. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Pope laments 'ashes of international law' left by today's conflicts in Ash Wednesday liturgy

12:48 PM on Wednesday, February 18

Pope Leo XIV has opened the church’s penitential Lenten season by presiding over Ash Wednesday

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates winning the gold medal in an alpine ski, women's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Winter Olympics recap: Shiffrin takes slalom gold, Canada and US advance with OT wins in hockey

12:33 PM on Wednesday, February 18

American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin has put in two dominant runs to win the women’s slalom by a massive 1.50 seconds

Olympic photo highlights from Day 12 of the Milan Cortina Winter Games

10:34 AM on Wednesday, February 18

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, in view of Independence Hall, departs after inspecting the location of the now removed explanatory panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at President's House Site in Philadelphia, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

US judge sets Friday deadline for Trump administration to restore slavery exhibit in Philadelphia

9:21 AM on Wednesday, February 18

The Trump administration will appeal a federal judge’s order to restore a Philadelphia exhibit on the nine people enslaved by George Washington at his former home on Independence Mall

FILE - A sign marks an entrance to a Moderna building in Cambridge, Mass., May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes, File)

Moderna says the FDA will consider its new flu shot after resolving a public dispute

8:55 AM on Wednesday, February 18

Vaccine maker Moderna says the Food and Drug Administration will decide whether to approve its new flu shot for older adults after all

President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency director Lee Zeldin to announce the EPA will no longer regulate greenhouse gases, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Public health, green groups sue EPA over repeal of rule supporting climate protections

7:42 AM on Wednesday, February 18

A coalition of health and environmental groups is suing the Environmental Protection Agency, challenging the rescinding of a scientific finding that has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change

Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Nvidia leads the US stock market higher

10:55 PM on Tuesday, February 17