- 5 hours ago
ABC News Live Prime: Feb. 18, 2026
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Breaking tonight on ABC News Live Prime, what led to the deadliest skiing avalanche in U.S. history.
00:07At least eight skiers killed, six rescued, one still missing.
00:10The group on a backcountry trip.
00:12Avalanche warnings posted before they left.
00:14Rescuers facing treacherous conditions trying to reach the victims in Northern California.
00:19I'm Aaron Katursky reporting from Tucson, Arizona.
00:22Tonight, 24 hours after revealing DNA on a glove did not match anyone in a federal database,
00:28what authorities are doing to try and find a match as the reward for information doubles.
00:33Meta-CEO Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand in the landmark social media trial.
00:38The brother of Glenn Maxwell, the convicted co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, speaks only with ABC News.
00:43The scare just after takeoff, an unruly passenger caught on camera assaulting another passenger.
00:49Half of all the new demand for electricity over the next five years in the U.S.
00:53is expected to come from data centers, the backbone of AI technology.
00:57In partnership with our stations across the country, our Elizabeth Schulze saw how they're
01:01dividing communities, bringing the promise of new jobs, but fears of higher utility bills.
01:06Why should people who don't live in this area might not ever come to this part of Wisconsin
01:11care about what's happening?
01:14They should care because it's their backyard next.
01:19The dangerous social media stunt that sparked a dramatic rescue off the New York City bridge.
01:24The great wing debate is over, which way the judge's decision flew over what is or isn't a wing.
01:30And for the first time, a brand new category, an Oscar for achievement in casting.
01:35How these casting directors found the perfect people for award-worthy roles.
01:39I'm in the field of casting because I'm obsessed with humanity and exploring what it means to be human.
01:47From ABC News World Headquarters in New York, this is Prime with Lindsey Davis.
01:55Good evening. I'm Perry Russellman for Lindsey Davis. Thank you for streaming with us.
01:59We begin with what has become one of the deadliest ski-related avalanches in U.S. history.
02:03Authorities in Northern California say eight backcountry skiers were killed in a massive avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
02:09Six others survived.
02:11Officials say the avalanche was about the length of a football field sweeping up the skiers on the day the
02:16group was set to return home from a three-day trip.
02:18Tonight, one skier is still missing and is believed to be dead.
02:22Rescuers braved dangerous weather conditions, snow, high winds, and little visibility to reach the remote area,
02:27which is only accessible by snowcats or cross-country skis.
02:31Trevor Ault leading us off from California.
02:35Tonight, the devastating ending to a daring search effort in Northern California.
02:40Officials say a massive avalanche the size of a football field buried a group of backcountry skiers.
02:45Eight people have now been found deceased and a ninth person still missing is presumed dead.
02:51They were attempting to go out as a group that someone saw the avalanche, yelled avalanche, and then it overtook
02:58them rather quickly.
03:00The group of 11 skiers and four guides were returning from a three-day guided trip in the backcountry near
03:06Castle Peak, not far from Lake Tahoe.
03:08That avalanche hitting just before noon, one guide and five skiers surviving, rescued overnight after contacting help with an SOS
03:16call.
03:18This is what the conditions looked like at the time nearby.
03:21Extreme weather conditions, I would say, is an understatement. Lots of snow, gale force winds, winds making it impossible to
03:31see.
03:31With choppers grounded by the weather, it took rescue teams six hours on snowcats and skis to finally reach them.
03:38Two of them with injuries had to be carried back. The survivors had found three deceased members of their group.
03:44Search teams then found five more, all of them close together.
03:47Because of the extreme conditions and the rush to save the survivors, rescuers were forced to leave the bodies of
03:53those eight killed there on the mountain.
03:55One of them is the spouse of one of the rescuers.
03:58As you can understand, this has not only been challenging for our community, it's been a challenging rescue,
04:04but it's also been challenging emotionally for our team and our organization.
04:09The group's tour guide company, Blackbird Mountain Guides, has said they were working with investigators in the search and recovery
04:15effort.
04:16We're up here at 9,400 feet.
04:17Earlier this week, they posted this video on Instagram, warning of a big storm coming two days before what's now
04:24believed to be the deadliest avalanche in more than 30 years.
04:27There were significant warnings about this storm, forecasts of it, highway shutdown, other ski resorts were closed.
04:35Would these guides have known they were potentially leading this group into a deadly situation?
04:40Those are all questions that we're asking, and appreciate the patience while we get through this and investigate the totality.
04:47Not just so that we know, but so these families know.
04:51Trevor joins us now.
04:52Trevor, the weather conditions still dangerous for search and rescue teams.
04:57Absolutely they are, Perry, and there's still going to be more snow coming down, gale force winds.
05:01We know those eight bodies are still on the mountain, likely another that is still missing.
05:05But there's been so much snow continuing to come down that that exact spot where the avalanche occurred is now
05:11reloaded with snow.
05:12They could have another avalanche in that exact same spot that could threaten these recovery teams.
05:16It could also potentially rebury those bodies.
05:20Perry.
05:20Trevor, thank you.
05:22Let's bring in meteorologist Lee Goldberg.
05:25Lee, just some terrible weather conditions out west.
05:27How are things looking for rescue crews and those avalanche warnings?
05:29Still very challenging over the next 24 hours, Perry.
05:32We still have widespread winter storm warnings here in the west.
05:36And then, of course, the high winds and the fire danger from the southwest all the way in the midwest
05:40from New Mexico to Iowa.
05:41Blizzard warnings to the north.
05:43And then you have winter weather advisories that extend on I-90 in New York State into parts of western
05:47Massachusetts.
05:48So avalanche warnings and threats remain high from the Sierra into the Rockies.
05:53There's another round of rain and snow coming in Wednesday into Thursday, or tonight into Thursday, I should say.
05:59And then a piece of that Pacific energy is going to cause some severe weather in the Ohio Valley.
06:03So let's say from Indianapolis to Cincinnati Thursday afternoon, maybe some damaging winds, even a brief tornado.
06:09Then we move on to the northeast with some rain from D.C. to New York on Friday, especially in
06:14the morning hours of rough commute.
06:15And it could be icy and a little snowy up toward the Catskill Mountains of New York.
06:19Then we get into Sunday, the third storm of the week.
06:21And this one, it looks like a powerful storm, but the brunt may be offshore.
06:25It's certainly a close call along the coast with some snowfall.
06:28We'll be looking at the storm track all week long. Perry?
06:31Thank you, Lee.
06:32Passengers were forced to evacuate a JetBlue plane using slides after the crew reported smoke in the cockpit.
06:37This happened at Newark Airport a short time ago.
06:39The plane had left for Florida, but immediately returned in what authorities said was engine failure.
06:44Flight operations out of Newark Airport were briefly stopped.
06:47They are now back to normal.
06:48No injuries reported.
06:49JetBlue says an investigation is underway.
06:51Now to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
06:53The FBI is looking into the possibility she was taken across the border into Mexico.
06:58It comes as authorities analyze DNA evidence found inside the house that DNA does not match Guthrie or her family.
07:04Chief investigative correspondent Erin Katursky is in Tucson tonight.
07:08Tonight, the FBI is now exploring the possibility Nancy Guthrie was taken across the border into Mexico, just 60 miles
07:14from her home.
07:15While there are no firm leads pointing south, law enforcement sources tell ABC News the FBI has reached out to
07:21Mexican authorities to put her disappearance on their radar.
07:24It comes as investigators are analyzing partial DNA found inside Nancy Guthrie's house that does not match the 84-year
07:32-old grandmother or anyone close to her.
07:34They're comparing it to criminal databases and looking at forensic genetic genealogy.
07:38The technology connected to genetic genealogy, the family tree, is changing rapidly when it comes to what private labs can
07:45do to help authorities track down potential suspects.
07:48One of those cutting-edge labs, Othrum in Houston, Texas.
07:51David Middleman's the CEO.
07:53In this case, an abduction, someone that we're trying to return back to family.
07:57It's really important to do this super fast.
07:59You just can't afford to wait, you know, weeks.
08:02Every day matters.
08:03Middleman and his wife, Kristen, have built a high-tech forensic genealogy lab, and their work has been used in
08:08high-profile cases across the country.
08:10Middleman will not say if any of the authorities have reached out to Othrum in the Guthrie case.
08:15He says state and local authorities have for years counted on CODIS, the FBI's database, where criminals have had their
08:2120 DNA markers inputted.
08:23What's eye-opening is that Othrum's technology allows them to go well beyond those 20 markers in a DNA test
08:29that's been used for many years.
08:31DNA was how old?
08:32David reported on the new technology, visiting their lab just last year.
08:35For the last 30 years, people have used a different kind of DNA testing technology that can measure 20 data
08:42points in the DNA.
08:43This machine actually can read out the entire sequence.
08:46So whereas you might get 20 data points in the earlier versions of this technology, this machine could give you
08:51anywhere from 100,000 to a million data points.
08:54100,000 to a million?
08:55100,000 to a million data points.
08:57Far more than what traditional testing shows.
09:00They then turn to publicly available genealogy databases and using their own technology and AI advances to rapidly see if
09:07there are relatives out there who uploaded their DNA and if that information can then help crack a case.
09:13When you have a lot of markers, then what you're able to do is to make these precise measurements.
09:18You're a second or third cousin.
09:19And if you know who those folks are, then you can use public records and family trees to essentially reverse
09:25engineer the identity of the source for that evidentiary DNA.
09:29Authorum has helped the FBI before.
09:32In the Idaho College murders, they helped investigators zero in on the suspect, Brian Koberger.
09:37And since that case, they say artificial intelligence and technology have only made their work more efficient.
09:43And tonight, authorities are continuing to study that video from Nancy Guthrie's front door.
09:48The gun, the holster, the backpack, the clothes.
09:51Walmart is now searching receipts statewide.
09:54They're hopeful someone will see the video and remember someone who bought those items or someone who looks like this
10:00man.
10:01And tonight, for the first time, we are inside this 911 center in Tucson where operators are being inundated with
10:07tips 18 days into the search for Nancy Guthrie.
10:10Sheriff's Department, can you please hold?
10:11Is this in regards to the Nancy Guthrie case?
10:13This is the Sheriff's Department's communications section.
10:16Thousands of tips about Nancy Guthrie have come right here.
10:19And when the information is viable, these call takers don't wait.
10:22They can get it right to the investigators.
10:24If there's a tip about Nancy Guthrie, it's coming here.
10:27It's coming here.
10:28We've resorted to modifying our questioning and trying to basically get down to the nitty-gritty to kind of help
10:35vet some of these calls that are coming into the center.
10:38Get to the point.
10:39Get to the point, yes.
10:41And as the tips come in across this community, they're putting up yellow ribbons.
10:45They have still not given up hope Nancy Guthrie will come home.
10:49I live like one neighborhood over.
10:50Carrie told me there's a reason why this case has touched so many.
10:54My mom is 83 and I just can't even imagine if I was in that position as her family, too.
11:00So that's very sad.
11:02That's just it, right?
11:03It seems to be striking a chord with everybody.
11:06Yeah, I feel like it's, you know, it's like America's mom, right?
11:08So again, Perry, the authorities here in Tucson are now in touch with law enforcement officials in Mexico just in
11:15case.
11:15And today, investigators received an anonymous donation enabling the reward for information to double now to $200,000.
11:24The number 1-800-CALL-FBI.
11:27Perry.
11:28Aaron, thank you.
11:29Today in Los Angeles, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in a landmark trial alleging major social media platforms
11:35like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube were designed on purpose to make kids and teenagers addicted to screens.
11:40Elizabeth Schulze breaks down what happened in court.
11:43Tonight, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg grilled in front of a jury for the first time in a landmark trial over
11:50claims Instagram is designed to be addictive for kids and teens.
11:54The case centered on a 20-year-old who says she started using social media at age 10.
11:59Her lawsuit claiming the app's features got her hooked, eventually leading to depression, anxiety, and body image issues.
12:06Zuckerberg defending Instagram's current restrictions that ban users under 13, but saying,
12:13I always wish we could have gotten there sooner.
12:15And testifying, the company has acknowledged for a while that people get around the age restrictions.
12:20Zuckerberg also pressed about an internal email appearing to show goals to boost the time spent on apps by 12%.
12:27The Meta CEO testifying, we changed that.
12:30Zuckerberg on the stand two years after a Capitol Hill hearing, where he apologized to families whose children have been
12:37harmed by social media.
12:46In a statement today, Meta saying they disagree with the allegations in the lawsuit.
12:50Adding the evidence will show the plaintiff faced many significant difficult challenges well before she ever used social media.
12:58Maureen Molak's son, David, took his own life at just 16 years old.
13:02She says social media contributed to David's depression and anxiety.
13:06They know exactly what their platforms are doing.
13:09They are addicting kids and that they haven't done anything about it to stop it.
13:15Perry, YouTube is also on trial and denies the allegations.
13:18TikTok and Snapchat were named in the lawsuit but settled.
13:21This trial is seen as a bellwether for more than a thousand other cases against social media nationwide.
13:27Perry.
13:29We are several days into a partial government shutdown and there is no immediate end in sight.
13:34The shutdown is leading to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
13:38And joining us now to discuss is Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who is also a part of the
13:43Homeland Security Committee.
13:45Thank you for speaking with us tonight, Senator.
13:47So let's start with the partial government shutdown.
13:49Your colleagues in Congress and the White House have offered no signs of compromise over the funding of the Department
13:54of Homeland Security.
13:55Where do negotiations stand right now behind closed doors?
14:01Look, behind closed doors, I think we're just not at the point where we have any type of compromise.
14:07What we're asking is what the American people are asking for.
14:10We want professional law enforcement.
14:12We want ICE and federal agents working with ICE to use search warrants for them to stop these overt city
14:21suppressions of our cities, for them to treat the localities with respect, to target criminals.
14:28And what we're getting back from this administration is they don't want to do any of that.
14:32They just want us to continue giving them money.
14:34And after seeing two Americans die in less than two and a half weeks separation, that's not the place that
14:41I'm willing to go to.
14:42So what is your message to the federal workers who are working right now without pay?
14:49Well, look, we know for a fact that ICE, Border Patrol and other agencies within DHS have enough money for
14:56them to continue their operations.
14:57They have enough money, as a matter of fact, more than the United States Marine Corps.
15:00Let's just agree that we should continue to fund the Coast Guard, FEMA, TSA, for them to continue to do
15:08their work because it is nonpartisan and is aligned with, you know, the goals and the understanding of what the
15:14American publics want.
15:15But what's happening with ICE right now, the fact that they're running amok among our cities, not respecting U.S.
15:21citizens, racially profiling, killing American citizens.
15:24Now they're opening up, you know, detention warehouses all over the country without any input from localities.
15:28This is a federal agency that is running amok.
15:32It needs to be reined in.
15:33The administration needs to understand that.
15:34They need to come and work with us to align this agency with where the public wants.
15:38Because what they want, what they're seeing right now is not what they want.
15:42You've recently said that ICE is absolutely rotten right now.
15:45How do you think this topic is going to play into the midterms coming up?
15:52Well, I think it's going to play not very well for Republicans.
15:55You know, this is an issue right now that is on the negative side for Republicans and for Donald Trump.
16:00Americans are very clear.
16:01And this is why when we ran in Arizona, we were able to win the state, even though Donald Trump
16:06also won the state.
16:07They want a secure border.
16:08They got that from President Trump.
16:10What they don't want, though, is the chaos that was at our border and now our chaos in the streets.
16:15They don't want the racial profiling of Americans to be happening.
16:18They don't want targeting of children and separation of families.
16:22They don't want the warehousing of immigrants.
16:25They want professional, legal immigration enforcement.
16:28And they're not getting that right now.
16:31You were coming to us from your home state of Arizona, where the search continues for Nancy Guthrie.
16:35Have you been in touch with the Guthrie family at all or local authorities?
16:38And what do you know about the latest on the investigation?
16:43We've not been in touch with the Guthrie family largely because we want to make sure that they're able to
16:47do what they want.
16:48We're trying to stay out of this.
16:49We want this to be a professionally conducted search.
16:53We want both our local entities, the Pima County Sheriff, as well as our federal agencies to work together in
17:00a comprehensive manner and a professional manner to make sure that we bring her back and we hold the people
17:06accountable that kidnapped her.
17:07Any concerns with you were also at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last weekend, where you met with several
17:12foreign defense ministers and stressed the importance of the U.S. economic collaboration with Latin America.
17:18Do you think that message was well received by our allies in the Western Hemisphere?
17:24I think it was somewhat well received, like there are some people that were, you know, happy that we were
17:29willing to use our American military, our men and women to potentially do regime change.
17:34But as I told some of these conservative leaders of Latin America, if they want to see regime change in
17:39Latin America, then they should be sending their troops to go engage in war.
17:43We don't want to be the world police and we certainly don't want to be the world bully.
17:47And the way that we're going right now with this presidency, the way he's using our military, we're more the
17:51world bully than anything else.
17:53Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona, thank you, sir, for your time.
17:57Today is Ash Wednesday. It's a day of fasting and reflection, marking the start of Lent.
18:02Millions of Christians attending church today for a service that emphasizes the start of a season of reflection and to
18:07repent from sin.
18:09Worshippers receiving ashes in the form of a cross on their foreheads.
18:12Ash Wednesday starts a 40-day countdown to Easter. It falls on April 5th this year.
18:17All right, coming up on ABC exclusive with the brother of Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein,
18:24why he says she is choosing to remain silent, plus panic on board a plane as one Delta passenger says
18:30a man just started punching everyone.
18:33Then a deep dive into the impact of AI data centers on Americans from surging electricity bills to the threat
18:39of losing land.
18:40Stay with us.
18:59As Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell sits in federal prison, her brother Ian Maxwell sat down with our chief
19:05foreign correspondent James Longman
19:06for an exclusive, wide-ranging interview from a possible pardon for her to the infamous photo of Ghislaine and Prince
19:12Andrew with Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.
19:15The former Prince Andrew has already had all his titles taken from him, been forced to move to a smaller
19:20residence, and been shunned from public life.
19:23Now he faces new pressure, as UK police say they're examining flight logs at a UK airport used by Jeffrey
19:29Epstein's private jet.
19:31A BBC investigation found nearly 80 flights linked to the convicted sex offender that arrived or departed from UK airports
19:38from the early 90s to 2018.
19:40Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants Andrew to face police questions,
19:43and says Stansted Airport in London was used to fly women from Eastern Europe, saying his messages link at least
19:50one to Britain and the former Prince Andrew.
19:52Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing, and says he was introduced to Epstein by mutual friend Ghislaine Maxwell.
19:58That's a claim she denies, as she serves 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse young
20:05girls.
20:05I spoke exclusively with her brother Ian, who defended her decision to plead the fifth to Congress last week.
20:11She was given the opportunity to speak to Congress.
20:14She invoked her Fifth Amendment.
20:15Why did she do that?
20:16I invoked my Fifth Amendment right to silence.
20:19Well, the legal advice was absolutely clear, and you need to think about this quite carefully.
20:26She did speak to Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general member of the DOJ, back in, I think it was
20:37the end of July last year.
20:38A critic might say, well, she spoke to Todd Blanche because Todd Blanche may not have been across all the
20:43details in the same way as members of Congress are,
20:46that she just backed away from a proper grilling.
20:49Well, you say that, he asked her over two days of questioning, several hundred questions.
21:00She didn't fail to answer a single one of those, so I reject that.
21:05She may be hated, but she is at least entitled to the dignity of the court deciding what is to
21:13be her fate,
21:14and not Congress, who are only interested in theatrics and using the victims as props to beat President Trump or
21:24President Clinton,
21:25whichever side of the aisle you are.
21:27After speaking to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell was moved to a more comfortable facility in Texas,
21:33something that outraged Epstein's survivors.
21:35People have suggested that was a reward for speaking to Blanche.
21:39Ghislaine is possibly the most notorious prisoner in the U.S. federal system today.
21:46It was a notoriously violent and dangerous place.
21:50For her own safety, she had to be moved.
21:54So she wasn't moved as a reward for saying President Trump had done nothing wrong?
21:58President Trump has not done anything wrong.
22:00You tell me, have you found anything wrong in the papers yet? I haven't seen anything.
22:03Because there is a widely held perception that Ghislaine is holding back secrets,
22:09and until she gets clemency, she won't reveal everything she knows.
22:14Well, I think that's a fallacy.
22:17You know, I've explained you why she has chosen to remain silent.
22:23One, it's her constitutional right.
22:26Two, she has an active, live, civil proceeding in front of a federal court.
22:32Three, she's entitled that it is the court that takes the view on Ghislaine,
22:38not grandstanding members of Congress.
22:40Maxwell has filed a long-shot petition to have her case re-examined.
22:44If that fails, the only option left to her would be a presidential pardon.
22:49Her legal team has suggested that her testimony could exonerate
22:52Presidents Trump and Clinton of any wrongdoing.
22:55Both presidents have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing
22:58and say they were not aware of any criminal activity by Epstein.
23:01Ghislaine has not asked President Trump for a pardon.
23:05The fact of the matter is that the Epstein scandal is being used
23:10by both sides of the aisle to beat the present president and the former president.
23:17Do you believe that President Trump should pardon her?
23:20I am hopeful that the petition will reach the judge presiding over the petition,
23:28based on the evidence.
23:29As Andrew continues to face pressure in the U.K.,
23:32there is new focus on the infamous photograph with Virginia Giuffre.
23:36So I do want to talk to you about the photograph,
23:38because as you'll know, that came up in the emails that were released most recently.
23:43According to Giuffre, that photo was taken in March 2001.
23:46But then in emails from January 2015, it looks like Ghislaine is writing to Jeffrey Epstein,
23:55and they're trying to workshop a statement on that photograph.
24:00And it says in the email,
24:02Well, it was in London when, name redacted, met a number of friends of mine, including Prince Andrew.
24:07A photograph was taken as I imagine she wanted to show it to friends and family.
24:12That suggests that Ghislaine does not believe the photograph to be a fake.
24:17And yet, in her testimony to Todd Blanche, she said she thought it was, which is true.
24:23My reading of that 2015 mail, purportedly from Ghislaine,
24:29firstly, it's a draft.
24:33So we don't know what actually came out of it.
24:36What we can see is what appears to be a draft of an email between, written by Ghislaine to Jeffrey.
24:43The actual photo itself is not reference.
24:48It talks about a photo being taken.
24:52I don't think that, you know, it's easy to draw the inference that you have drawn.
24:57I would maintain that Ghislaine continues to have tremendous doubt about the picture that was published
25:04and believes that it is not the original and may have been doctored in some way.
25:10We don't know.
25:11But one imagines if she really believed that, that these emails from 2015 would have been her saying,
25:16I can't believe they've got this photograph.
25:18It must be a fake.
25:19I don't ever remember it.
25:20But that's not what she's saying.
25:21What she's saying is, we've got to figure out a way to explain this photograph,
25:25which is an entirely different argument.
25:27That's your interpretation.
25:28But it is her flat in the photograph.
25:30It does look to you like it is her flat in London.
25:33It does look like it's her flat.
25:34Yes, I don't think that's an issue.
25:36Ghislaine Maxwell has said she could not have been in that photograph
25:39because she was at her mother's birthday party that day,
25:42a party Ian says he was also at.
25:45And have you got any photographs?
25:47I don't know.
25:48Probably.
25:49I mean, it's quite a long time ago.
25:52Sure, but you mean, I imagine that the family would try and find the photograph
25:55if they could exonerate your sister.
25:58Listen, it's one of those things that needs to be checked out.
26:01And she was, my mother did turn 80 on the, that day.
26:08And our party was held and Ghislaine was definitely at the party.
26:11There's no issue.
26:12And all of the children were there.
26:14So you can provide the alibi for your sister then, in that case?
26:17I think so.
26:18I can't imagine that we could not find that.
26:21Nobody's asked us to produce anything.
26:23So I'd love to see what we will do.
26:26For an 80th birthday, one imagines there would have been photographs.
26:29There were photographs, for sure.
26:32And one final note, Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in April.
26:36Thank you, James, for the conversation.
26:38Coming up, the FDA reversing course saying they will now review Moderna's new mRNA seasonal flu shot
26:44after first saying they would not.
26:46We'll tell you about the change.
26:47And we know humans, even some adult humans, they love stuffed animals.
26:51So why would this baby monkey at the zoo be any different?
26:54That story coming up.
27:01You're watching Prime.
27:02Here's a look at the stories making headlines right now.
27:05A deadly avalanche in Northern California has killed at least eight skiers.
27:08One person remains missing and is presumed dead.
27:11Authorities calling it one of the deadliest skiing avalanches in U.S. history.
27:15Rescuers are facing dangerous conditions trying to reach the scene.
27:18Six skiers were rescued, including a guide.
27:21Passengers on an early morning Delta flight from Houston to Atlanta jumped into action
27:25after another passenger allegedly became unruly.
27:29One passenger told our affiliate in Atlanta WSB the man started punching everybody
27:33and he allegedly tried to storm the cockpit.
27:36Video shows the man screaming at flight attendants before the crew and several passengers held him down
27:40while the plane turned around.
27:41That passenger escorted off the plane in zip ties.
27:44And the distinctive baby blue and white colors of Air Force One will soon be part of history.
27:50The Air Force announced the planes will be repainted in red, white, dark blue and gold.
27:56The color scheme preferred by President Trump.
27:58DHS has already started painting some of those planes.
28:01Coming up, a rare shark filmed for the first time in this part of the world.
28:05What researchers make of the discovery.
28:08But first, our ABC investigation into the real cost to Americans
28:11as communities grapple with the AI boom.
28:19Now to an ABC News investigation.
28:22Half of all the new demand for electricity over the next five years in the U.S.
28:25is expected to come from data centers.
28:28They are the backbone of AI technology.
28:30In partnership with our stations across the country,
28:32our Elizabeth Schulze shows us how they're dividing communities,
28:35bringing the promise of new jobs, but fears of higher utility bills.
28:41This was the sound at Laura Evans' home in suburban Chicago last spring,
28:45when backup generators kicked in at the data center 1,000 feet from her backyard.
28:51And it never goes away.
28:52Never goes away.
28:53Laura tells us the data center emits a low hum 24-7, and it's not just the noise taking a
28:59toll.
28:59She says in the last year, her average electricity bill has spiked 23 percent.
29:05How do you budget when it's changing that much in one year?
29:08You can't.
29:09And the electric company warned prices could rise even more.
29:12They need more power at the data centers.
29:14Saying one reason why is increased electricity use from data centers and artificial intelligence.
29:19The energy demand from these facilities affects our ability to meet clean energy goals,
29:27have a livable planet, and also just pay our bills.
29:30ABC News and our owned and affiliated stations spoke with communities across the country,
29:35grappling with the rapid buildup of data centers to support the AI boom.
29:40An analysis from our data team found there are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S.
29:45About 1,200 more are now under construction or soon to be built.
29:50If you're watching a show or if you're using AI, ultimately a lot of the computation happening there,
29:55or at least the storage for that thing, is in a data center somewhere.
29:58And our analysis finds a majority of the country's large data centers are or will be in cities, towns, or
30:04developed suburbs.
30:06You need a really well-developed, very consistent grid.
30:09They need to be extremely reliable in the energy that they use because if a data center suddenly goes out,
30:15if it completely loses power, all the tens of thousands of people who are interacting with it are suddenly going
30:20to be very mad.
30:21When these data centers go offline, gear apps can go down almost right away.
30:25Yeah, exactly.
30:27So this is pretty much as close as we're going to get to where this data center is popping up.
30:32It's just a massive construction site.
30:36Hard to comprehend the scale of this.
30:37A two-hour drive north of Laura's home, we visited the site of what will be one of the biggest
30:43data centers in the U.S.
30:44in the small town of Port Washington, Wisconsin.
30:48A $15 billion project backed by OpenAI and Oracle that's part of the White House's Stargate initiative
30:55announced on President Trump's second day in office.
30:58The campus sits on a plot of farmland bigger than 500 football fields
31:03and will eventually use about the same amount of electricity needed to keep the lights on in all the homes
31:09in Philadelphia.
31:10They'd be putting power lines that are taller than apparently the Statue of Liberty.
31:15Tom Utech has lived on this land for 40 years.
31:18He's an artist who draws inspiration from its natural beauty.
31:22Last year, he got a letter from his utility company saying it plans to build a massive power line for
31:28the data center right across his property.
31:31I had no choice.
31:33And basically they're saying that if you don't agree, we'll take it by eminent domain.
31:38They'll just take over your land.
31:40Yeah.
31:40And we'll fight it to the end.
31:43He showed us where the power line would go, wiping out dozens of trees he planted.
31:47There's no way this environment around this neighborhood could ever be the same if it's cut in half again by
31:56these giant things.
31:57We expect attendees will act in a civil manner at all times.
32:00At a town hall this month, we saw how the data center is dividing the community.
32:05We need clarity and we need it now because we are not going to pay double the amount of our
32:12utility bills.
32:13Do you understand that?
32:14These are good-paying union jobs that are part of a once-in-a-generation investment in Port Washington.
32:19Mayor Ted Nightsky defends the project.
32:22These are huge companies that are kind of the face of AI right now, OpenAI, Oracle.
32:27Are you convinced that they will be willing to invest in this community?
32:30They've been awesome.
32:31I mean, they have been, they have met every expectation we've given them.
32:37He says the data center will create 4,000 temporary construction jobs and bring in much-needed tax revenue.
32:44My greatest fear was that I would wake up one day and our downtown would be a ghost town again.
32:48And as a dad who raised my kids here and was born and raised here, I wanted this to be
32:53a better place.
32:53But some residents still aren't buying it.
32:56This is an abuse of power.
32:58The mayor even facing an attempt to recall him from office that ultimately failed.
33:05This video shows one opponent who chanted recall at a city meeting last December.
33:10She's handcuffed and physically removed from the meeting by police.
33:14It was incredibly shocking.
33:16I never imagined anything like that ever happening.
33:20There was a pretty heated moment a couple months ago at one of the council meetings.
33:25What are you doing?
33:26How do you react to the backlash from the video?
33:29How do I react to it?
33:30I can play you the voicemails of the threats I receive from all over the country to my family's safety.
33:35I can play you the voicemails of the threats to our police department from all over the country.
33:40In statements to ABC News, the tech companies behind the Wisconsin project pointed to economic benefits for the region.
33:48OpenAI said, in Wisconsin and across all our U.S. Stargate sites, we are committed to paying our own way
33:55on energy so that our operations do not increase local electricity prices.
33:59Oracle added it will invest in wind, solar and batteries, which means more reliable, affordable energy will be available to
34:07local families and businesses.
34:08And Tom Utec's utility company tells us the route it has chosen for the power line offers a lower cost
34:15to rate payers and maximizes the use of existing corridors.
34:19Why should people who don't live in this area might not ever come to this part of Wisconsin care about
34:25what's happening?
34:27They should care because it's their backyard next.
34:31Back in Laura Evans' backyard in Aurora, Illinois, local officials made the decision to put a 180-day pause on
34:39building new data centers.
34:41We basically put a pause to make sure that if these data centers want to come in, that they can
34:46be good neighbors going forward and try to really address some of the concerns that our citizens have.
34:51The city's pause on new data centers, which ends next month, was a way to buy time for local officials
34:56like Allison Lindbergh to put new regulations in place.
35:00Is the conversation around how to regulate data centers happening fast enough as how much they're popping up right now?
35:06I definitely think that the regulations need to be happening faster.
35:11The fact that we, as this smallish city, are the ones that are leading in this is frankly pretty surprising
35:19considering the magnitude of the impact of these data centers.
35:23In a statement to ABC News, the data center just behind Laura's home apologized to neighbors and said it is
35:30committed to supporting policies that accelerate new power supply and grid technologies to improve reliability and moderate costs over time.
35:38And it installed temporary noise barriers while permanent engineered solutions were being designed and fabricated.
35:45Some proponents of this technology say this is the future. What do you say to that?
35:49Build it somewhere else and just make sure it's done right because this isn't right.
35:54The future is here. Elizabeth, thank you.
35:57Coming up, a dramatic bridge rescue after a social media stunt gone wrong and the road to the Oscars is
36:02upon us.
36:03We sit down with the nominees highlighting this year's historic Oscar achievements, our new series Oscars for the first time
36:09when we come back.
36:15A social media bridge stunt leaves a team in the hospital, a rare shark sighting in the waters off Antarctica,
36:21and one judge decides, can you actually call a boneless chicken wing a wing?
36:26These stories and more in tonight's rundown.
36:32An apparent social media stunt sparked a dramatic rescue on New York City's Queensborough Bridge.
36:38Video shows first responders carefully working to rescue the teenager who fell about 50 feet into a narrow shaft on
36:44the bridge.
36:45The 16-year-old boy was with friends when it happened.
36:47Crews from the FDNY and NYPD searched tower by tower for him.
36:52Authorities say the entire incident may have started because of a social media trend.
36:56The teen is still recovering at a local hospital.
36:59The FDA has reversed course and will now review Moderna's mRNA seasonal flu shot.
37:05Last week, Moderna announced the FDA refused to review their application, raising concerns across the vaccine industry about how the
37:12agency would handle future applications surrounding vaccines.
37:15The dispute centered around a large clinical trial and whether it included the right comparison for seniors.
37:21Moderna has now split its application by age group, seeking traditional approval for adults 50 to 64 and accelerated approval
37:27for those 65 and older.
37:29If approved by the FDA, the new vaccine could become available by the next flu season, which starts later this
37:35year.
37:37Less than two weeks after winning Super Bowl 60, the Seattle Seahawks are now up for sale.
37:42The estate of Paul G. Allen, which has owned the team since Allen died in 2018, announced it has started
37:47a formal process to sell the franchise in line with his wishes to direct proceeds from his sports holdings to
37:53philanthropy.
37:53It's the first time in the Super Bowl era that a team has been put on the market shortly after
37:58playing in the championship game.
37:59The sale process is expected to continue through the 2026 offseason.
38:04NFL owners must then approve any final deal.
38:08Researchers have filmed a rare sleeper shark swimming in Antarctica's near freezing waters for the first time.
38:14The shark, estimated to be between 10 and 13 feet long, was captured more than 1,600 feet below the
38:20surface.
38:21Researchers say climate change and warming ocean waters may be driving the sharks to the southern hemisphere's colder waters.
38:29A judge is dismissing a lawsuit over Buffalo Wild Wings' boneless chicken wings.
38:33Listen to this.
38:34The plaintiff accused the restaurant of deceiving customers by putting the boneless wings under the menu's wings section, even though
38:41they're actually made of chicken breast.
38:43Buffalo Wild Wings argued its advertisement was not deceptive and pointed to its cauliflower wings that are also under the
38:49menu's wings section.
38:50In the ruling, full puns, the judge says the complaint has no meat on its bones, and the plaintiff did
38:56not drum up enough facts to support his case.
39:01A baby macaque monkey at a Japanese zoo has stolen hearts around the world after being seen with an unusual
39:06companion.
39:07A six-month-old named Punch was abandoned by his mother months ago.
39:11Zookeepers hand-reared him, and to ease his loneliness, introduced a stuffed orangutan.
39:16Videos of the playful interactions have gone viral, drawing visitors to see Punch and his beloved stuffed toy at the
39:22zoo.
39:25Oh, we love Punch.
39:27We are celebrating the road of the Oscars with a new series we are launching right here on Prime.
39:31Here's Lindsay Davis.
39:33The countdown to the 98th Academy Awards, Hollywood's biggest night, is now underway.
39:39And we're rolling out a new series right here on Prime, Oscars for the first time.
39:44A segment that highlights this year's historic Oscar nominations.
39:47First up, a brand-new Oscars category is unveiled. Take a look.
39:59First new Oscar category in 25 years.
40:05For the first time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will debut an Oscar for achievement in casting.
40:13Gabriel Dominguez.
40:14Casting directors from five films have been nominated in this inaugural category.
40:19ABC News sat down with nominees at the annual Oscars nominee's luncheon in Beverly Hills.
40:24I'm super happy and honored to be here.
40:27There are three American movies, one British movie and one Brazilian movie. We got it.
40:31Gabriel Dominguez is nominated for his work on Best Picture Candidate, The Secret Agent.
40:36We had this idea of mixing very well-known Brazilian actors with people who was in their first work on
40:47a movie.
40:49I guess for the movies, it's good to have original and authentic representation of faces that are unexpected in a
40:58way.
40:58This will to absorb some of the Brazilian expression.
41:07Jennifer Venditti is nominated for casting the ping-pong drama Marty Supreme.
41:12I feel like the thing that's so special about Marty Supreme is that it is a tapestry of humans, of
41:17eclectic humans.
41:19And I think that's my, I do, I'm in the field of casting because I'm obsessed with humanity and exploring
41:24what it means to be human.
41:26This work started for me being obsessed with people watching.
41:29I always say, I'm like psyched to, to be on jury duty.
41:33I love the DMV. I love all the places that people hate.
41:37This new award recognizes the integral role casting directors play in putting together a film's acting ensemble
41:43and focusing on the overall creative selection process.
41:46The casting directors for Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Hamnet are also vying for Oscar gold.
41:53Will you be praying?
41:54Yes.
41:56Will you be praying?
41:58It makes me emotional because there are so many incredible men and women that came before me that were part
42:05of this crusade, you know, to get this category nominated.
42:08And it feels, you know, for all the people that aren't here with us that have done incredible work.
42:15Casting directors can often play a crucial role in the discovery of new and up-and-coming box office talent.
42:21That's just how the cards were rolled out for me.
42:23It's, it's dice, sweetie.
42:26Chase Infinity and Miles Caton are just two of those breakout stars this season.
42:31Somebody take me!
42:35Cast is a combination of the greatest movie stars and some new talent that we are so lucky to have,
42:45you know, brought into the film at this time.
42:47But yeah, Chase Infinity, Tiana Taylor, Sean Penn, Leo, Benicio, I mean, it's an embarrassment of riches, I keep saying.
42:57Chase Infinity plays Willa, the fearless daughter of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tiana Taylor's characters in one battle after another.
43:04She reportedly almost missed the audition notice in her crowded inbox.
43:08After six months of auditions, chemistry tests, and a four-day karate training intensive, she landed the role.
43:15When you look at Sinners and Francine Maisler, yes, Michael B. Jordan playing two roles, but it's about the discovery
43:21of Miles Caton.
43:23Right here? Yeah, right now. Come on, hi. Come on.
43:25And for Sinners casting director Francine Maisler, the role of Sammy, played by Miles Caton, started with a poorly lit
43:32audition tape.
43:33He'd never acted before, but was a child prodigy, even going on tour as a teen with the singer Her.
43:39It's the sunrise and those brown eyes.
43:45When they're casting Hamnet and you have Jesse Buckley and Paul Meskel, it's not just getting them, you have to
43:52go find Little Hamnet.
43:53The one that anchors the entire story, the boy that will inspire the greatest piece of writing in Shakespeare's repertoire.
44:03And you find Jacoby Jupe.
44:06Yes.
44:06And something you'll notice about some of the films this year, real everyday people were cast in some of the
44:12roles.
44:13If you see Marty Supreme, there's kind of a cross between fiction and nonfiction.
44:17There's real people, there's actors.
44:19We like that kind of alchemy between real and pretend.
44:26For something like The Secret Agent of Brazilian films, Gabriel Dominguez, it's not just about Wagner Mora.
44:32It's about all the little intricate roles.
44:36The little Brazilian lady that takes Wagner Mora in, her name's Tanya Mario.
44:40She has never acted before.
44:43She's not an actress, but she adds this flavor.
44:46She was supposed to be an extra, but they were so fascinated about her that Cleber gave, I don't know,
44:51two lines for her.
44:53And she absolutely enlightened the movie.
44:56And she's very, she's a diva, right?
44:59Everybody falls in love with her because she's amazing.
45:01And with these casting directors, you just never know when it might be your big break.
45:07The waiters, the waiters at the lunch.
45:10I got the one, my waiter, the woman, I have her number in my purse.
45:13Her face was incredible.
45:16You can catch the 98th Academy Awards on Oscars Sunday, March 15th, live at 7 p.m. Eastern.
45:22It's on ABC, and you can also stream on Hulu.
45:25That's our show for this hour.
45:26I'm Perry Russell.
45:27Stay tuned to ABC News Live for more context and analysis of the day's top stories.
45:31Thanks for streaming with us.
Comments