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ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Feb. 18, 2026
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00:00David Muir, ABC's World News Tonight, America's most watched newscast.
00:05Now streaming same day with all the breaking news of the day on Disney+.
00:10Most watched, most trusted.
00:12Now on Disney+, every night.
00:15Tonight, the breaking news, at least eight skiers buried alive.
00:20Authorities calling it the deadliest skiing avalanche in U.S. history.
00:23Eight skiers killed, one still missing at this hour, presumed dead.
00:27Five skiers and a guide rescued, forced to leave the bodies on the mountain.
00:31One of the rescuers is married to one of the victims buried in the snow.
00:36Also breaking tonight, the images coming in, the fire emergency, large fires burning across multiple states.
00:42Dramatic video showing home after home in flames.
00:45Thousands forced to evacuate.
00:46And in the northeast tonight, bracing for another potential snowstorm that could hit.
00:51Lee Goldberg tracking three storms, slamming this country.
00:55Tonight, there are also breaking developments in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
00:59The FBI now exploring whether she might have been taken across the border into Mexico.
01:04What we've learned.
01:05Also tonight, what Walmart is now doing after that video of that man at Nancy Guthrie's front door.
01:11The alarming moments tonight on board a Delta flight in midair.
01:14The passenger who began attacking other passengers on the flight.
01:17Tonight, Metta accused of making Instagram addictive to children and teens.
01:23The landmark trial.
01:24CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company owns Facebook and Instagram, on the stand today.
01:29In New York City, the social media stunt gone wrong.
01:33A teenager falling about 50 feet up the Queensborough Bridge, dangling as they rescued him.
01:38The massive sinkholes in the northeast, one swallowing a dump truck, carrying asphalt to fill sinkholes.
01:45And there are evacuations underway.
01:47Tonight, for the first time, a shark recorded in waters where sharks have never been seen before.
01:53And Team USA making history tonight.
01:55Michaela Schifrin's emotional victory.
01:57Her first gold after losing her father.
02:00And look at this, the dog suddenly on the course.
02:02And sprinting across the finish line.
02:08From ABC News World Headquarters in New York, this is World News Tonight with David Muir.
02:16Good evening.
02:17We have breaking developments in the Nancy Guthrie case.
02:19Also, three storms hitting the U.S.
02:21The fires across multiple states at this hour.
02:23But we begin with this deadly avalanche.
02:25At least eight skiers buried alive in the snow.
02:28And ninth still missing and also presumed dead tonight.
02:31Authorities calling it the deadliest skiing avalanche in U.S. history.
02:35The skiers caught in a massive avalanche while on Castle Peak in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Donner Pass and
02:40Lake Tahoe.
02:41Rescuers facing treacherous conditions trying to reach the scene.
02:45Eight dead and ninth believed to be dead as well.
02:47They had to leave the bodies on the mountain as they rescued five skiers and a guide.
02:52And adding to the horror tonight, one of the rescuers was married to one of the skiers killed and left
02:58on that mountain.
02:58And ABC's Trevor Rolt leads us off near the avalanche site in California tonight.
03:03Tonight, the devastating ending to a daring search effort in Northern California.
03:08Officials say a massive avalanche the size of a football field buried a group of backcountry skiers.
03:14Eight people have now been found deceased.
03:16And a ninth person still missing is presumed dead.
03:19They were attempting to go out as a group that someone saw the avalanche, yelled avalanche, and then it overtook
03:27them rather quickly.
03:29The group of 11 skiers and four guides were returning from a three-day guided trip in the backcountry near
03:34Castle Peak, not far from Lake Tahoe.
03:37That avalanche hitting just before noon.
03:39One guide and five skiers surviving.
03:41Rescued overnight after contacting help with an SOS call.
03:46This is what the conditions looked like at the time nearby.
03:49Extreme weather conditions, I would say, is an understatement.
03:53Lots of snow, gale force winds, winds making it impossible to see.
03:59With choppers grounded by the weather, it took rescue teams six hours on snowcats and skis to finally reach them.
04:06Two of them with injuries had to be carried back.
04:08The survivors had found three deceased members of their group.
04:12Search teams then found five more, all of them close together.
04:16Because of the extreme conditions and the rush to save the survivors,
04:19rescuers were forced to leave the bodies of those eight killed there on the mountain.
04:24One of them is the spouse of one of the rescuers.
04:26As you can understand, this has not only been challenging for our community, it's been a challenging rescue,
04:33but it's also been challenging emotionally for our team and our organization.
04:37The group's tour guide company, Blackbird Mountain Guides,
04:40has said they were working with investigators in the search and recovery effort.
04:44We're up here at 9,400 feet.
04:45Earlier this week, they posted this video on Instagram,
04:48warning of a big storm coming two days before what's now believed to be the deadliest avalanche in more than
04:5530 years.
04:56There were significant warnings about this storm, forecasts of it, highway shut down, other ski resorts were closed.
05:03Would these guides have known they were potentially leading this group into a deadly situation?
05:08Those are all questions that we're asking and appreciate the patience while we get through this and investigate the totality.
05:16Not just so that we know, but so these families know.
05:19And David, with those eight bodies still on the mountain, likely a ninth still missing,
05:23this remains an incredibly dangerous situation.
05:25The location where the avalanche occurred is now reloaded with snow.
05:29They say they could have another avalanche in the exact same spot.
05:32That could threaten the recovery teams and even potentially rebury the bodies.
05:37David.
05:37Trevor Rolt leading us off tonight.
05:39The pictures say everything there.
05:40Trevor, thank you.
05:41We are also following the fire emergency playing out across multiple states at this hour.
05:45All part of these storms, dramatic images coming in showing home after home in flames.
05:49In fact, thousands have been forced to evacuate.
05:51These images right here are from Tyrone, Oklahoma.
05:54That's northwest of Oklahoma City and the northeast bracing for what could be another major snowstorm.
06:01Lee Goldberg has the forecast and the images of this fire emergency tonight.
06:05Tonight, dramatic drone video showing the fire emergency tearing through the heartland.
06:10Thousands forced to flee their homes.
06:12A state of emergency declared in Oklahoma.
06:15Fierce flames from the side road fire in the panhandle burning multiple homes to the ground in Tyrone.
06:20A woman named Becky racing to save animals nearby.
06:24She don't understand what's going on.
06:26But luckily enough, we saved all the horses.
06:29The Ranger Road fire exploding to more than 225 square miles, crossing state lines into Kansas.
06:36Several firefighters injured battling fires in the region, including three when their fire truck overturned.
06:41In the town of Woodward, Oklahoma, 4,000 residents told to pack up and go as the 43 fire approached.
06:48Woodward, run!
06:51Darrell Stewart using a garden hose trying to protect his home.
06:54That critical fire danger extending across the state.
06:57What is making it worse is that very low humidity, and that causes a spark to go to flame faster.
07:03And tonight, crews also battling wind-driven fires in parts of the Texas panhandle.
07:08What a mess tonight.
07:09Let's get right to Lee with the forecast.
07:10Storms across this country tonight, Lee.
07:14It's amazing.
07:15Warnings, advisories from coast to now to coast.
07:18So we're looking at the high wind and the fire danger that's going on from New Mexico all the way
07:23to Iowa.
07:23To the north, you have blizzard conditions in the northern tier.
07:26Winter weather advisories into the northeast.
07:28Maybe even a light snow into Boston tonight.
07:29In the west, five feet of snow in the Sierra and counting.
07:33Avalanche danger remains high all the way to the Rockies.
07:35Now, some of that Pacific energy is headed for the plains and midwest.
07:38So we're concerned for severe storms from Illinois to Iowa tomorrow.
07:41Damaging winds, maybe even a brief tornado.
07:43Then late Thursday into Friday, the storm reaches the northeast.
07:46Rain from D.C. to New York.
07:47Some snow into New England.
07:49And then all eyes on that developing coastal storm.
07:51It's the third storm in the week.
07:52Our model's suggesting a close call, David, with snow along the coast.
07:55Hopefully the brunt offshore.
07:56David?
07:57The track will determine everything.
07:58Lee Goldberg, our thanks to you again.
07:59There are also breaking developments in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie tonight.
08:04The FBI is now exploring whether she might have been taken across the border into Mexico.
08:08Also tonight, what Walmart is now doing after that video of that man at Nancy Guthrie's front door.
08:13And tonight, as they continue to analyze DNA found at Nancy Guthrie's home,
08:17DNA that was not hers or anyone in her family,
08:19we look at the new technology that has been used in some recent national cases
08:23to look at forensic genetic genealogy.
08:26And could it be employed here?
08:28Aaron Katursky in Tucson for us again tonight.
08:31Tonight, the FBI is now exploring the possibility Nancy Guthrie was taken across the border into Mexico,
08:37just 60 miles from her home.
08:39While there are no firm leads pointing south, law enforcement sources tell ABC News the FBI has reached out to
08:45Mexican authorities to put her disappearance on their radar.
08:48It comes as investigators are analyzing partial DNA found inside Nancy Guthrie's house that does not match the 84-year
08:56-old grandmother or anyone close to her.
08:58They're comparing it to criminal databases and looking at forensic genetic genealogy.
09:02The technology connected to genetic genealogy, the family tree,
09:06is changing rapidly when it comes to what private labs can do to help authorities track down potential suspects.
09:12One of those cutting-edge labs, Othrum in Houston, Texas.
09:15David Middleman's the CEO.
09:16In this case, an abduction, someone that we're trying to return back to family.
09:20It's really important to do this super fast.
09:23You just can't afford to wait, you know, weeks.
09:26Every day matters.
09:27Middleman and his wife, Kristen, have built a high-tech forensic genealogy lab,
09:30and their work has been used in high-profile cases across the country.
09:34Middleman will not say if any of the authorities have reached out to Othrum in the Guthrie case.
09:38He says state and local authorities have, for years, counted on CODIS, the FBI's database,
09:44where criminals have had their 20 DNA markers inputted.
09:47What's eye-opening is that Othrum's technology allows them to go well beyond those 20 markers
09:52in a DNA test that's been used for many years.
09:55DNA was how old?
09:56David reported on the new technology, visiting their lab just last year.
09:59For the last 30 years, people have used a different kind of DNA testing technology
10:04that can measure 20 data points in the DNA.
10:07This machine actually can read out the entire sequence.
10:09So whereas you might get 20 data points in the earlier versions of this technology,
10:14this machine could give you anywhere from 100,000 to a million data points.
10:18100,000 to a million?
10:19100,000 to a million data points.
10:21Far more than what traditional testing shows.
10:24They then turn to publicly available genealogy databases,
10:27and using their own technology and AI advances,
10:30to rapidly see if there are relatives out there who uploaded their DNA,
10:34and if that information can then help crack a case.
10:37When you have a lot of markers, then what you're able to do is to make these precise measurements.
10:41You're a second or third customer.
10:43And if you know who those folks are, then you can use public records and family trees
10:47to essentially reverse engineer the identity of the source for that evidentiary DNA.
10:54Othrum has helped the FBI before.
10:56In the Idaho College murders, they helped investigators zero in on the suspect, Brian Koberger.
11:01And since that case, they say artificial intelligence and technology have only made their work more efficient.
11:07And tonight, authorities are continuing to study that video from Nancy Guthrie's front door.
11:12The gun, the holster, the backpack, the clothes.
11:15Walmart is now searching receipts statewide.
11:17They're hopeful someone will see the video and remember someone who bought those items,
11:22or someone who looks like this man.
11:24And tonight, for the first time, we are inside this 911 center in Tucson
11:28where operators are being inundated with tips 18 days into the search for Nancy Guthrie.
11:33Sheriff's Department, can you please hold?
11:35Is this in regards to the Nancy Guthrie case?
11:37This is the Sheriff's Department's communications section.
11:39Thousands of tips about Nancy Guthrie have come right here.
11:42And when the information is viable, these call takers don't wait.
11:46They can get it right to the investigators.
11:47If there's a tip about Nancy Guthrie, it's coming here.
11:51It's coming here.
11:52We've resorted to modifying our questioning and trying to basically get down to the nitty-gritty
11:57to kind of help vet some of these calls that are coming into the center.
12:02Get to the point.
12:03Get to the point, yes.
12:05And as the tips come in across this community, they're putting up yellow ribbons.
12:09They have still not given up hope Nancy Guthrie will come home.
12:13I live like one neighborhood over.
12:14Carrie told me there's a reason why this case has touched so many.
12:18My mom is 83, and I just can't even imagine if I was in that position as her family, too.
12:24So, yeah, it's very sad.
12:26That's just it, right?
12:27It seems to be striking a chord with everybody.
12:29Yeah, I feel like it's, you know, it's like America's mom, right?
12:33Again tonight, David, investigators here in Tucson are in touch with law enforcement officials in Mexico just in case.
12:39And today, investigators received an anonymous donation allowing the reward for information to double, now $200,000.
12:48The number, 1-800-CALL-FBI.
12:51David.
12:51Well, Aaron, it's just good to see that in that 911 call center that the tips keep coming in.
12:55Let's just keep hoping here.
12:57Aaron Katursky again tonight.
12:58Aaron, thank you.
12:59This evening, the alarming moments on board a Delta flight just after takeoff.
13:03The passenger accused of attacking other passengers in midair.
13:06Here's Gil Benitez.
13:08You're watching a midair emergency minutes after takeoff.
13:13Passengers on this early morning Delta flight from Houston to Atlanta forced to jump into action.
13:18As the airline says, another passenger began attacking people in the cabin.
13:23He stumbled to the back and just started punching everybody.
13:26The crew reporting that passenger was trying to break into the cockpit.
13:31We had a passenger get up and try to access the cockpit.
13:34We got to get cops, Dave.
13:35But Delta tonight saying that the passenger did not make contact with or attempt to access the flight deck.
13:41The passenger is seen screaming at flight attendants.
13:44The crew and some of those passengers try to subdue him, holding him down.
13:48They had to sit on him and we had to turn the plane around and go back.
13:51The flight turning around, landing back at Houston's Hobby Airport just 15 minutes after takeoff.
13:57That passenger escorted off the plane in zip ties.
14:01We see videos like this all the time.
14:03People going crazy on planes, but I just never thought that I would be witnessing this.
14:08And David, the FAA is investigating.
14:10Meanwhile, as we came on the air tonight, Newark had a short ground stop in place because a JetBlue flight
14:16to Palm Beach immediately returned to the airport.
14:19The FAA says the crew reported smoke in the cockpit.
14:23Passengers evacuated on those slides.
14:25Thankfully, everyone is safe.
14:27There were no injuries, David.
14:29All right.
14:29A temporary ground stop at Newark there.
14:31Gio, thanks so much.
14:32Tonight, the CEO of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, on the stand today.
14:36Mark Zuckerberg testifying in a landmark case now.
14:39The company is accused of making Instagram addictive to children and teens.
14:44Here's Elizabeth Schulze tonight.
14:46Tonight, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg grilled in front of a jury for the first time in a landmark trial over
14:53claims Instagram is designed to be addictive for kids and teens.
14:57The case centered on a 20-year-old who says she started using social media at age 10.
15:02Her lawsuit claiming the app's features got her hooked, eventually leading to depression, anxiety, and body image issues.
15:09Zuckerberg defending Instagram's current restrictions that ban users under 13.
15:14But saying, I always wish we could have gotten there sooner.
15:18And testifying, the company has acknowledged for a while that people get around the age restrictions.
15:23Zuckerberg also pressed about an internal email appearing to show goals to boost the time spent on apps by 12%.
15:30The Meta CEO testifying, we changed that.
15:33Zuckerberg on the stand two years after a Capitol Hill hearing, where he apologized to families whose children have been
15:40harmed by social media.
15:49In a statement today, Meta saying they disagree with the allegations in the lawsuit.
15:53Adding the evidence will show the plaintiff faced many significant, difficult challenges well before she ever used social media.
16:01Maureen Molak's son, David, took his own life at just 16 years old.
16:05She says social media contributed to David's depression and anxiety.
16:09They know exactly what their platforms are doing.
16:12They are addicting kids and that they haven't done anything about it to stop it.
16:18David, YouTube is also on trial but denies the allegations.
16:22TikTok and Snapchat were named in the lawsuit but settled.
16:25This trial is seen as a bellwether for more than a thousand cases against social media nationwide.
16:31David.
16:31Elizabeth Schulze reporting tonight.
16:33Elizabeth, thanks.
16:33Overseas tonight, nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran continuing amid a military buildup in the Middle East.
16:39With the second U.S. carrier strike group closing in on the region, President Trump is looking to pressure Iran
16:44to make a deal or risk U.S. military action.
16:47The U.S. insisting Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.
16:51Meantime tonight, talks between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia ending in a stalemate in Geneva.
16:55President Zelensky frustrated with the talk, saying key issues, including occupied territories, remain unresolved tonight.
17:02Zelensky accusing Russia of dragging out the negotiations.
17:05When we come back here tonight in New York City, the social media stunt gone wrong.
17:09A teenager falling on the Queensborough Bridge dangling as they rescued him.
17:14The massive sinkholes in the Northeast.
17:16The evacuations tonight won, swallowing a dump truck that was actually carrying asphalt to fill other sinkholes.
17:22And tonight, for the first time, look at this, a shark recorded in waters where sharks have never been seen
17:27before.
17:28Where the shark was spotted.
17:29In a moment here, don't go away.
17:32Tonight, authorities believe a social media stunt gone wrong in New York City.
17:36First responders using ropes to save a teenager who had fallen about 50 feet down a narrow shaft on the
17:41Queensborough Bridge in New York City.
17:43Authorities say that teenager is recovering in the hospital.
17:46Tonight, Phillipsburg, New Jersey, near the Pennsylvania border, declaring a state of emergency now.
17:50Several sinkholes, major sinkholes, opening up.
17:53One swallowing a dump truck, delivering asphalt to actually fill other sinkholes.
17:57Multiple homes evacuated, dozens without power tonight.
18:00When we come back this evening for the first time, a shark recorded in waters where sharks have never been
18:06seen before.
18:06And you'll see the pictures right here.
18:09To the index tonight, researchers studying the frigid waters of Antarctica.
18:12With a discovery, a research camera right here on the seabed, capturing images of a large shark between 10 and
18:1813 feet long.
18:20They say warming oceans may be driving sharks to waters that were once too cold.
18:24When we come back tonight, the big news just coming in from the Winter Games.
18:27We'll go right to Italy in a moment.
18:36Just in an overtime thriller, the U.S. men's hockey team beating Sweden going to the semifinals.
18:41And another emotional victory tonight, Janae Norman in Italy.
18:45Janae?
18:46Yeah, David.
18:47Tonight's celebrations for U.S. gear, Michaela Schifrin winning gold after eight years.
18:52We watched her win gold for the first time more than a decade ago as a teen to become the
18:56youngest slalom gold medalist in history in 2014.
19:00She won more gold in 2018 and now taking home the top prize again.
19:05This time her first gold since losing her father back in 2020.
19:09And Team USA making history tonight in men's team sprint cross-country skiing.
19:14Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher becoming the first Americans ever to medal in the event, earning silver.
19:19And Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klebo breaking the all-time Winter Olympic gold medal record.
19:26He's now tied with Michael Phelps for the most Olympic gold medals ever.
19:30With 10, he'll go for 11 this weekend.
19:32And David, one more thing happened on the same course.
19:35This local dog wandered on during a separate event, even crossing the finish line along with the Olympians.
19:42Dog and owner were reunited, David.
19:45Yeah, no medal though.
19:46Thanks, Janae.
19:47I'll see you right here tomorrow.
19:48Good night.
19:50David Muir, the most trusted anchor in America, the most watched anchor in America.
19:55Thank you for making world news tonight with David Muir, the number one newscast in America.
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