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The pope will visit Lampedusa on July 4, the Vatican announced on Thursday, as part of a series of visits he will make this summer to cities across Italy. AdvertisementLampedusa sits in the Mediterranean between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily. The Lampedusa visit will come on the day the U.S. celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence. Pope Leo, the first U.S. leader of the global Catholic Church, will spend the Independence Day holiday this year visiting an Italian island known as the first port of call for migrants sailing from North Africa for Europe. The island was visited by the late Pope Francis in 2013 on his first visit as pope outside Rome.

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›The U.S. stock market rose on Wednesday, led by a 1.6% gain in Nvidia's stock. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said "No one deploys AI at Meta's scale." The stock market ticked higher on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Meta Platforms An American multinational technology conglomerate that owns social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. ›What they’re saying“No one deploys AI at Meta's scale.” — Jensen Huang, CEO, Nvidia (latimes.com) “the essential nature of Cadence's engineering software” — Anirudh Devgan, CEO, Cadence Design Systems (latimes.com)

People walk near a mural featuring images of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on a street in Tehran, Iran, on February 17. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded in a post on X: “Curious to know why we do not capitulate? Take a look at this week’s developments below:Tuesday, February 17Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran took place in Geneva, Switzerland. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the talks as “positive,” adding that the countries agreed on “guiding principles” but more work needed to be done. Wednesday, February 18White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to say whether Trump would hold off on military action against Iran while waiting for its proposals.

Pat Riley lifts his fist to imitate his statue after it was revealed at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday. When that time comes, you do it.” (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)AdvertisementLike Riley himself, his statue looked darn near perfect. Riley used those words to earn six Lakers championship rings, four as a coach, one as an assistant coach and one as a player. Pat Riley speaks with Magic Johnson during Riley’s statue unveiling at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday. This Lakers organization is a bit of a mess, as evidenced by the speakers who joined Riley on the stage.

LA Times $3.85M Website Tracking Class Action SettlementIndividuals who accessed the LA Times website or mobile app while physically located in California between Jan. 31, 2023, and Dec. 19, 2025, may be eligible to submit a claim for a cash payment from a class action settlement. How much is the class action payment? How to claim a class action rebateTo receive a settlement payment, class members can file a claim online or print the PDF claim form to fill out and mail to the settlement administrator. Why is there a class action settlement? This class action lawsuit alleged Los Angeles Times Communications allegedly installed and used three trackers, TripleLift, GumGum and Audiencerate, on website visitors’ browsers without their consent.

NEWSSpotlighting Our LA Times Book Prizes FinalistsThe Los Angeles Times announced the finalists and honorees for its 46th Annual Book Prizes, recognizing outstanding literary achievement across 13 categories and celebrating the highest quality of writing from authors at every stage of their careers. PRH author Adam Ross will also be recognized with the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose. Winners will be announced on Friday, April 17, at a ceremony held at USC’s Bovard Auditorium—a prologue to the 31st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which takes place April 18–19. We’re proud to share that several Penguin Random House authors and imprints are represented among this year’s finalists. Congratulations to the authors and teams who brought these books to life!

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) addresses supporters at a bar in San Francisco during the California Democratic Party’s annual convention. Those fractures revealed themselves during the party’s annual convention in California’s liberal epicenter, San Francisco, where a slate of Democrats running to succeed Gov. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) takes a selfie with supporters during the California Democratic Party’s annual convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Saturday. AdvertisementTechnology businessman Dennis Bress, from Newport Beach, wears a pin supporting Planned Parenthood and a Yes on Proposition 50 shirt at the California Democratic Party convention at the Moscone Center on Friday in San Francisco. Delegates and party leaders said California’s next governor will have to continue leading the state’s aggressive opposition to Trump while dealing with the issues at home.

Sal Rivas, left, and Carmen Vera, co-owners of Pasadena Classic Car, look at Vera’s restored 1972 Chevy C10 short bed at the shop. A photo of the burned-out 1972 Chevy C10 short bed, scorched in the Eaton fire in Altadena and now refurbished by Vera. The restored 1972 Chevy C10 is finished in a burnt orange exterior, paired with a pearlescent white leather interior. A view of new LS engine conversion in the 1972 Chevy C10 short bed. “I want to put a classic car back out in the streets, one at a time, every single day if I can.”

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers are divided — and defiant. [3]During the 2025 address, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, raised his walking cane and shouted. [8]When Republicans sat out Democratic presidentsDemocrats are not alone in the history of State of the Union boycotts. It was the first organized boycott of a State of the Union by members of the House. [11]1st State of the Union address of Trump’s 2nd term is tonightTrump’s State of the Union address is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Ahead of the Games, the Italian National Olympic Committee committed to paying a cash bonus to any of the country’s athletes who won a medal: roughly $213,000 for gold, $106,000 for silver and $71,000 for bronze (converted to U.S. dollars at the exchange rate at the start of the Olympics). Those rewards were generous—among the 37 delegations that confirmed to Forbes that they were offering financial incentives to Olympians who reached the podium, only Singapore, Hong Kong, Poland and Kazakhstan had plans for larger prizes. However, Singapore (offering roughly $787,000 for gold in an individual sport) and Hong Kong ($768,000) were shut out of the medal table, as they have been at every previous edition of the Winter Games, and Kazakhstan ($250,000) had a single top-three performance: Mikhail Shaidorov’s victory in men’s figure skating over the heavily favored American Ilia Malinin. Poland, pledging a combined $355,000 for individual gold from its Olympic committee and the national government, fared better, with a total of four medals in ski jumping and speedskating.

Monica Torres (Image Via Getty)Who is Monica Torres? Hunter Hess and Tanisha Ranger’s quotes add fuel to Olympic article debateMonica Torres, a senior reporter at HuffPost, is facing heavy criticism online after a recent article about the Olympics upset many readers. On February 21, 2026, HuffPost published her piece titled, “There’s A Name For The Discomfort You’re Feeling Watching The Olympics Right Now. Many users said the headline felt unpatriotic at a time when Team USA was winning medals. As of now, neither Monica Torres nor HuffPost has released a public response.Monica Torres works as a senior reporter on HuffPost’s Life team.

Outgoing Disney CEO Bob Iger is among the “potential replacements” who have been floated for LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman, according to sources cited by CNN.com. It’s become a distraction to the dollars that need to be raised to go into fundraising for these Olympics” (CNN.com, 2/22). We’re watching all the comments and the sentiments that are shared across the country and across the world. Right now that is sitting with them and the LA28 board. For us right now, they’re dealing with that” (“2026 Winter Olympics,” NBC, 2/22).

The Supreme Court on Friday gave Trump an off ramp from his tariff adventure. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty ImagesTrump also claimed the Supreme Court decision permitted him to levy a total embargo on foreign countries’ goods. What this means for pricesEconomists don’t expect the Supreme Court decision will be a gamechanger for consumer prices – especially because Trump made clear he’s not retreating. Stephanie Roth, chief economist at Wolfe Research, was blunt when asked what the Supreme Court ruling would mean for consumer prices. That number was expected to rise to $1,300 this year before the Supreme Court ruling.