Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech next Tuesday, Democratic congressional leaders said Thursday — a sign of her growing importance to the national party. “Governor Spanberger embodies the best of America as a mother, community leader and dedicated public servant,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said Thursday in a joint announcement with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York). Ask The Post AIDive deeperWhile the speaking opportunity offers her broader national exposure, it is often seen as a mixed blessing. Ask The Post AIDive deeper“We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history,” Spanberger said in the announcement. Next week, I look forward to laying out what these Americans expect and deserve — leaders who are working hard to deliver for them.”

February 19, 2026 23:04 UTC

The desert tortoise, a once-resilient reptile, is a keystone species in the Mojave Desert, where other animals depend for their survival on the burrows it digs. The two vehicles barreled over a road and careened into the Ord Rodman Area, which the federal government has deemed critical to the desert tortoise’s survival. It caps the latest battle between conservationists, off-roaders and other interests in a long-running war over who gets to access the Mojave desert and how. A desert tortoise in the Mojave Desert near Kramer Junction, on BLM land. There is one area in the western Mojave where tortoise populations are recovering: the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area near California City.

February 19, 2026 23:01 UTC

AdvertisementThe FCC issued new guidance in January to late-night and daytime hosts that they needed to give political candidates equal time. Brendan Carr, commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), speaks during a news conference following an open commission meeting at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr sees legitimate competition concerns in Netflix Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. AdvertisementTalarico reported that he had raised $2.5 million in campaign donations in the 24 hours after the Colbert interview. CBS says Colbert was provided “legal guidance” that broadcasting the interview with Talarico could trigger the equal time rule.

February 19, 2026 22:37 UTC

LOADING ERROR LOADINGThe victims of the devastating avalanche in Northern California include the spouse of a local search and rescue team member and a group of parents, mostly mothers, whose children reportedly attended a local ski academy. AdvertisementThe group consisted of four professional ski guides and 11 trip participants. AdvertisementMost of the ski trip’s participants were women and mothers of children on a ski team at the nearby Sugar Bowl ski resort, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing a person familiar with the tragedy. Lake Tahoe-area ski school Sugar Bowl Academy confirmed Wednesday that several of its members were among the avalanche victims, though it said it would not immediately name them out of respect for their families. All of the ski guides were certified in backcountry skiing and were instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education, which sets “the industry standard for avalanche education,” according to Blackbird Mountain Guides.

February 19, 2026 22:37 UTC

AdvertisementThe 90,000-square-foot ballroom would be nearly twice the size of the White House, which is 55,000-square-feet, and would accommodate about 1,000 people, Trump has said. The East Room, currently the largest room in the White House, can fit just over 200 people at most. To date, the White House has only released an incomplete list of donors. AdvertisementDonald Trump holds a rendering of the planned White House Ballroom extension in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. The ballroom project is scheduled for additional discussion at a March 5 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, which is led by a top White House aide.

February 19, 2026 22:37 UTC





Uber has announced this investment, which is intended to cover costs for site development, equipment, grid connections, and the associated infrastructure required to build charging stations, according to an Uber spokesperson speaking to Bloomberg. Both partnerships align with the planned locations for the DC fast charging stations. For instance, Uber drivers in the US who wish to purchase an electric vehicle can receive a grant of up to $4,000 US dollars. These agreements aim to promote the installation of hundreds of new charging stations in these cities. Uber drivers will receive discounts at these charging stations, and in return, Uber will guarantee high utilisation rates.

February 19, 2026 22:24 UTC

NationalDancers perform in protest of ICE killingsFebruary 19, 2026 | 5:39 PM GMTA group of dancers performed outside the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln Memorial on Presidents' Day in protest of the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.

February 19, 2026 22:13 UTC

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February 19, 2026 22:11 UTC

In mid-2025, when the Trump administration suddenly felt compelled to downplay the Jeffrey Epstein files, officials said they didn’t have enough evidence to prompt any additional investigations of third parties. Andrew has denied all allegations of misconduct related to Epstein, and his name appearing in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing. Prosecutors in Paris opened two new investigations into potential sex abuse and financial wrongdoing related to Epstein on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. She’s also repeatedly said things about the Epstein files that seemed convenient in the moment, regardless of how true they were. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementThat breeds distrust regarding any future assertions you make about the files — a persistent problem the Trump administration hasn’t been able to shake.

February 19, 2026 22:08 UTC

A handful of states have passed laws to encourage off-grid data centers by loosening rules around who can build power plants and where they can be located. It is being propelled by a 2025 state law that eased approvals for off-grid data centers. Oracle and OpenAI are also developing off-grid power plants for their data centers. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is an investor in aerospace firm Boom Supersonic, which has refashioned a jet engine design to power off-grid data centers. The first batch will go to developer Crusoe, which is building one of the world’s largest data center campuses in Wyoming.

February 19, 2026 22:02 UTC

“Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains ongoing as well as our search for the remaining skier. But the weather is a factor.” “What we do understand is that it was about a football field in length. It resulted when a persistent weak layer had a large load of snow over the top of it. That persistent weak layer is still there and has reloaded with another three feet of snow. They had themselves already started looking for their teammates and their clients that were missing in the avalanche.

February 19, 2026 21:59 UTC

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February 19, 2026 21:42 UTC

A CNN star was caught on a hot mic seemingly mocking an impromptu statement made by Donald Trump. CNN News Central anchor Sara Sidner made the slip-up during the show's live coverage of Trump's 'Board of Peace' gathering in Washington, DC. Trump said: 'President [Santiago] Peña of Paraguay is here... President, thank you very much. Young, handsome guy. I don’t like young, handsome men.

February 19, 2026 21:40 UTC

It’s been more than a month since President Donald Trump declared a red line on Iran. But Trump’s choice amounts to this: He can either enforce his red line — however belatedly — or do something quite politically fraught. Those are three pretty strong rejections of Trump’s red line. And those numbers were especially striking because some of the same pollsters showed Americans were much more evenly split on Trump’s initial Iran strikes. We could find out in the coming days how serious Trump is about enforcing his red line on Iran.

February 19, 2026 21:38 UTC

“This is probably one of the best coffee makers I’ve ever owned the iced coffee option has bee this is probably one of the best coffee makers I’ve ever owned the iced coffee option has made my mornings wonderful again made my mornings wonderful again! Despite also having a coffee pot carafe, it does not take up a lot of space on the counter. Found it cheapest at Walmart Online (with quick, free delivery) than alternative competitor’s “big deal” days.” — Kimberly“Smaller than our previous similar designed coffee maker duo set. Our son bought this for us for Christmas, as our previous coffee maker was aging and getting harder to clean, slower to make w/the one single cup. We looked a similar design, from previous maker we had, but this was our happy Cmas deal for sure.” — BR

February 19, 2026 21:35 UTC