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ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast - Feb. 19, 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. Now on Disney+, every night.
00:15Tonight, the breaking news right here, the bombshell arrest in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
00:20The stunning image tonight, former Prince Andrew in the backseat of a car,
00:24driven from a police station after being arrested on his 66th birthday,
00:28held for 11 hours.
00:30The brother of King Charles already isolated over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sex assault.
00:36Tonight, what they're now investigating when it comes to Andrew.
00:40King Charles tonight releasing a statement and we'll have it.
00:43James Longman standing by live in London.
00:45Also breaking, there are tornado warnings right now as we come on the air,
00:49tracking severe storms and devastating fires across multiple states at this hour.
00:54Then tomorrow, the rain, the snow from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, New York to Boston.
00:59And then this potential nor'easter that could hit this weekend.
01:03Lee Goldberg has it all. He has the forecast.
01:05Tonight, news and the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
01:08Authorities now squarely focused on two key pieces of evidence,
01:12including DNA found in Nancy Guthrie's home and what we've learned.
01:16Aaron Katursky standing by.
01:17The urgent manhunt right now, a suspect accused of stealing an ambulance
01:21and then ramming it into a homeland security office.
01:25Authorities believe then pouring gasoline all around.
01:28Tonight, just in, President Trump's new ultimatum to Iran,
01:32saying agree to a nuclear deal or, quote, bad things will happen.
01:37And tonight here, what ABC News has now learned,
01:39what President Trump is considering
01:41when it comes to possible U.S. military action against Iran.
01:45Ian Pannell with late reporting tonight.
01:48A jet flu flight making an emergency landing,
01:50passengers racing to get off the plane on slides.
01:53Tonight here, look at this, the remarkable discovery,
01:55a new species of dinosaur, where it was found and how large it was.
02:00And late today, winning the gold,
02:02the U.S. women's hockey team beating Canada.
02:04And we'll go right to Italy.
02:09From ABC News World Headquarters in New York,
02:13this is World News Tonight with David Muir.
02:17Good evening.
02:18We begin tonight here with the breaking news,
02:20the bombshell arrest of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
02:22Former Prince Andrew, the brother of King Charles, arrested.
02:25It's believed the first British royal arrested in nearly 400 years.
02:30Andrew, Mountbatten, Windsor, in custody, held for about 11 hours.
02:33Tonight here, the images showing him in the backseat of a vehicle
02:36as he was leaving the police station just a short time ago.
02:39Police searching his home.
02:41Some sources telling ABC News the royal family received no prior notice.
02:45Andrew is under investigation on suspicion of misconduct in public office
02:49over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
02:52Andrew reportedly arrested after the files released by the U.S. Justice Department
02:56allegedly show he may have shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein
03:00while Andrew was serving as the trade envoy for the U.K.
03:03The late Virginia Giuffre had long accused Andrew of sexual assault when she was 17.
03:08He denied it.
03:09Years later, he settled with Giuffre in a civil suit.
03:12Tonight, what her family is now saying about his arrest.
03:15And this evening here, King Charles releasing a statement insisting, quote,
03:19the law must take its course.
03:21President Trump responding to the arrest tonight.
03:23ABC's chief international correspondent, James Longman,
03:26leading us off now from London tonight.
03:29Tonight, the face of a man who's lost everything.
03:32Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince,
03:34shrinking into the backseat of a car driven from a police station
03:38after becoming the first royal to be arrested in modern British history.
03:42Good afternoon, Your Majesty.
03:43In London, Andrew's brother, King Charles, tight-lipped.
03:46Your Majesty, how are you feeling after your brother's arrest?
03:49Have you spoken to your brother, Your Majesty?
03:51It was at the King's private estate in Sandringham
03:53where police arrested Andrew early this morning.
03:55Charles was not there, and sources tell us he had no advance notice.
04:00In an extraordinary statement, the king saying,
04:02what now follows is the full, fair and proper process,
04:05pledging the authorities will have his full and wholehearted support and cooperation,
04:09and declaring, let me state clearly, the law must take its course.
04:13The former prince already largely banished from the royal family
04:16over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
04:19Files recently released by the Justice Department
04:22include bizarre photos of Andrew kneeling over a young woman lying on the floor.
04:26Today's arrest, which police say is related to
04:29suspicion of misconduct in public office,
04:31apparently stems from something else.
04:33DOJ files raising questions about whether Andrew,
04:36while serving as a British trade envoy,
04:38shared confidential information with Epstein.
04:41In his disastrous interview with the BBC,
04:43Andrew acknowledged their relationship had opened doors.
04:46Do you regret the whole friendship with Epstein?
04:51Now, still not.
04:54And the reason being is that the people that I met
04:59and the opportunities that I was given to learn,
05:04either by him or because of him,
05:08were actually very useful.
05:10Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously
05:14conducted himself in a manner unbecoming?
05:17Yes.
05:19Unbecoming?
05:19He was a sex offender?
05:21Yeah.
05:21I'm sorry, I'm being polite,
05:22in the sense that he was a sex offender.
05:25Andrew claimed he cut ties with Epstein in 2010,
05:27after he'd been released from prison.
05:29But newly released emails indicate that's not true.
05:32In early 2011, Epstein writing to Andrew,
05:34the press is piling in on me in the States,
05:37nothing to do, just to make sure you're OK.
05:39Andrew's response,
05:41I'm just as concerned for you.
05:42Don't worry about me.
05:44It would seem we are in this together
05:45and we'll have to rise above it.
05:47Adding, keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon.
05:50British authorities gave no indication
05:52today's arrest was tied to allegations of sexual misconduct.
05:56Andrew has long denied having sex
05:58with a teenage Virginia Giffray,
05:59who claimed she was trafficked to him by Epstein.
06:02Ultimately, Andrew paid Giffray a sizable settlement.
06:05She died by suicide last year.
06:08Tonight, the British monarchy shaken to its core.
06:11And in the United States,
06:12President Trump, who had a long friendship with Epstein
06:14and is mentioned throughout the Epstein files,
06:17though not accused of any wrongdoing,
06:18says his thoughts are with the royal family.
06:21I think it's a shame.
06:22I think it's very sad.
06:23I think it's so bad for the royal family.
06:26Virginia Giffray's sister-in-law, Amanda,
06:28telling us her thoughts are with Epstein's victims.
06:30It's not just a day for Virginia to revel in,
06:34but it's a day for every single survivor
06:36who has been screaming, who has felt silent,
06:39who has felt ordinary, who has been pushed under the rug.
06:44David, this is the first time in nearly 400 years
06:47that a British royal has been arrested.
06:50Now, Andrew was released today without charge,
06:52but he remains under investigation.
06:54There is every chance that the brother of the king
06:57could become a convicted criminal.
06:59David.
07:00James Longman leading us off tonight here.
07:02James, thank you.
07:02Meantime, back here in the U.S.,
07:04a potentially dangerous night ahead.
07:05There are tornado warnings up as we're on the air right now.
07:08We're also tracking these severe storms
07:10and devastating fires across multiple states tonight.
07:13Red flag warnings from New Mexico to Missouri,
07:15winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour.
07:18These images right here, fires in Kansas,
07:20already destroying nearly 300,000 acres.
07:22Rain and snow tomorrow from Washington, D.C.
07:25to Philadelphia, New York, right up to Boston.
07:27And then, of course, we're watching that potential nor'easter
07:29that could hit this weekend.
07:31So Lee Goldberg has the forecast,
07:33the tornado warnings up for tonight,
07:34and the images coming in now.
07:38Tonight, critical fire danger and red flag warnings
07:41as wildfires rage across the plains,
07:43already incinerating more than 480 square miles
07:47in parts of three states.
07:48In western Oklahoma, firefighters driving through
07:52the scorched earthen damage left behind
07:54by the fast-moving 43-complex fire in Woodward County.
07:58It was pretty rough.
07:59We were overran immediately in the beginning.
08:03It was just too much volume.
08:05Thankfully, firefighters able to prevent any homes
08:08from being lost there.
08:09Meanwhile, parts of the upper Midwest
08:11dealing with the aftermath of a blizzard,
08:13accidents all over the Twin Cities area.
08:15The Minnesota State Patrol sharing videos
08:18of jackknife tractor trailers and other crashes
08:21on Interstate 94, east of Barnesville,
08:23warning drivers to continue to take it slow.
08:26And as a new system moves east,
08:28a new danger, ice jams.
08:30Massive chunks of ice piling up on Oil Creek
08:33in Venango County, Pennsylvania.
08:35Officials warning these ice jams can cause major flooding
08:38and conditions can change in an instant.
08:40So severe weather across the country again tonight,
08:43and Lee is standing by with the forecast
08:44to take us through it all.
08:47Hey, David.
08:48Boy, you name it, we have it on this alert map,
08:50whether it be avalanche warnings in the west
08:53or the severe weather across the Ohio Valley.
08:56We have active tornado warnings across Illinois
08:58and into Indiana,
08:59and then winter alerts into the northeast
09:01and through the plains as well.
09:02Through tonight, snow from Nebraska into Iowa.
09:05We'll still have severe weather moving from Indiana
09:08into Ohio and heavy rain in the mid-Atlantic.
09:10Tomorrow mornings are soaking from D.C. to Philly
09:12to New York, maybe some snow in the Hudson Valley
09:14and Capital District.
09:15Through the day, it's snowing upstate New York
09:17and New England three to six inches from Boston
09:19into Maine, icing northern Pennsylvania
09:21into Connecticut.
09:22Then the weekend storm.
09:23Still trying to pinpoint this storm track.
09:25If it hugs the coast, obviously,
09:26it's higher impact with more snow and wind.
09:28We think it's a little farther offshore.
09:30That still could mean a light to moderate snowfall.
09:32We'll keep you posted every step of the way.
09:34David? Yeah, let's hope so.
09:35We'll track it right here with you.
09:36Thanks, Lee.
09:36We turn now to new developments tonight
09:38in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
09:40Authorities are now focusing tonight
09:41on two central pieces of evidence,
09:43including what could be that crucial DNA
09:46found in Nancy Guthrie's home.
09:48Here's our chief investigative correspondent,
09:50Aaron Katursky, from Tucson again tonight.
09:53Tonight, 19 days into the search
09:55for Nancy Guthrie, investigators are squarely focused
09:57on the two key clues they have,
09:59including DNA found inside her home.
10:02Sources telling ABC News it's a mixture of DNA
10:05from a male and a female.
10:06They need to separate it,
10:08and they're hoping the male DNA
10:09could help lead to a potential suspect.
10:11They have said the DNA is not
10:13from a member of Guthrie's family.
10:15They also remain focused on video
10:17from the front door and on that backpack,
10:19which they know is sold at Walmart.
10:21Law enforcement sources tell ABC News
10:23Walmart is helping authorities
10:25with any receipts for that kind of backpack.
10:27It's, hey, this backpack has been identified
10:30at, only purchased at Walmart.
10:33That'd be a pretty hype.
10:36And tonight, investigators are casting a wider net
10:39in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
10:40There's no definitive lead pointing to Mexico.
10:45But tonight, officials in Sonora
10:47that borders Arizona say they're in touch
10:49with the FBI and ready to help.
10:51That's the entrance to Mexico.
10:52We're little more than an hour's drive
10:54from Nancy Guthrie's home if she was taken here.
10:57It's a quick and easy trip across the border.
10:59A group of mothers who search
11:01for the missing in Mexico
11:02are now helping to spread the word.
11:04ABC News was given access
11:06to the 911 call center where tips are coming in.
11:09Is this in regards to the Nancy Guthrie case?
11:11They remain hopeful someone will recognize
11:13the man who walked up to Nancy Guthrie's front door,
11:16turned around, and grabbed brush
11:18to put in front of the doorbell camera.
11:20That 19 days in, someone will say,
11:22I think I know him.
11:23When those tips dry up, this case goes cold.
11:26We believe somebody out there knows who did this.
11:29We need that person to call us.
11:31It was a combination of tips about that video,
11:33analysis of online searches,
11:35and other techniques that led investigators
11:37to the homes of these two men
11:39who were questioned and released.
11:41Tonight, those men are trying to clear their names.
11:43A lawyer for the man most recently detained, Luke Daly,
11:46saying in a statement,
11:47Mr. Daly has no link whatsoever to Nancy Guthrie
11:50and has no information related to her kidnapping.
11:52And early on, hours after video from the front door
11:55was released, delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos
11:58was detained in question two,
12:00now telling our Phoenix affiliate KNXV.
12:02They just went with supposedly a tip they had,
12:05but they could have done things differently.
12:06They could have walked to me and asked,
12:08hey, were you there?
12:09Were you there?
12:10But they didn't.
12:11Tonight, so many in this community just want answers
12:13and peace for the Guthrie family.
12:15The people who live here know the whole country
12:18is watching this case.
12:19And one longtime resident telling me
12:20they want closure for Savannah Guthrie
12:22and her siblings.
12:23The people here saying it's unimaginable
12:25what's happened to this family.
12:27We want the end.
12:28That's all we want.
12:28We want to find out what happened to Nancy.
12:30Tonight, David, investigators vowed to keep at it.
12:33They say thousands of tips are still pouring in.
12:36So far, they've only been able to identify
12:39the suspect's backpack.
12:40They're still working to identify
12:42everything else he was wearing.
12:44David.
12:45Aaron Katursky with us from Tucson again tonight.
12:47Aaron, thank you.
12:48To other news, there's an urgent manhunt at this hour.
12:50A suspect accused of stealing an ambulance
12:52and then ramming it into a Homeland Security office
12:55just outside Boise, Idaho.
12:57Here's Pierre Thomas with what he's learned tonight.
13:01Tonight, federal and state authorities in Idaho
13:03urgently trying to find the suspect,
13:06they say stolen ambulance,
13:08and rammed it into a building
13:09housing U.S. Department of Homeland Security offices
13:12before then trying to set the building on fire.
13:15There is no doubt this building would have been burned,
13:19putting the lives of first responders and others at risk.
13:21According to Meridian Police,
13:23the suspect fled Wednesday night shortly after 11 p.m.
13:27after being scared off by first responders
13:29and before any fire could be ignited.
13:31But police say the evidence suggests
13:33a level of premeditation.
13:35The suspect drove the ambulance north
13:37through the parking lot
13:38and retrieved gas cans that had been staged
13:41in nearby vegetation.
13:43While motive is not yet clear,
13:45police claim that DHS leasing office space
13:48in that building has been the subject of controversy
13:50regarding the Trump administration's immigration policy.
13:54DHS has been warning about a surge in threats
13:57against immigration officials,
13:58and while no one was injured,
14:00police are emphasizing just how dangerous
14:02the situation was.
14:04David?
14:04All right, Pierre Thomas on this from Washington tonight.
14:07Pierre, thank you.
14:07Late today, President Trump with a new ultimatum to Iran
14:10saying agree to a nuclear deal or, quote,
14:12bad things will happen.
14:14And what ABC News has now learned tonight,
14:16what President Trump is now considering
14:18when it comes to possible U.S. military action
14:20against Iran.
14:22Here's our chief foreign correspondent,
14:23Ian Pannell, from the region tonight.
14:26Tonight, an ultimatum to Iran.
14:28President Trump warning it has a maximum of 15 days
14:31to make a nuclear deal
14:33or really bad things will happen.
14:35We're either going to get a deal
14:36or it's going to be unfortunate for them.
14:39A U.S. official says the president held a meeting
14:42in the Situation Room with top advisers
14:4424 hours ago discussing Iran.
14:47A source familiar with the planning
14:48telling ABC News the president's considering
14:51a range of options,
14:52from a limited strike that had enhanced
14:55the U.S. negotiating position
14:56to larger-scale strikes
14:58on government, military and nuclear targets.
15:02Trump ordering a massive build-up
15:04of U.S. firepower in the Middle East,
15:06the U.S. demanding no nuclear program,
15:09a curb on ballistic missiles
15:10and an end to support for proxy militant groups
15:13like Hamas and Hezbollah.
15:16David, despite ongoing talks
15:18and massive military pressure,
15:20Iran's supreme leader, Defiant,
15:21warning the strongest army in the world
15:23may sometimes get slapped so hard
15:25it can't stand up straight.
15:27David?
15:28Ian Paddle from the region tonight
15:29will continue to watch us very closely with you, Ian.
15:32Back in the U.S. tonight in Philadelphia,
15:34the slavery display at the president's house
15:36where George Washington lived
15:37has now been restored.
15:38Philadelphia Mayor Sherelle Parker
15:40viewing the display today
15:41and personally thanking National Park Service workers
15:44for reinstalling the exhibit.
15:46A judge ordered the display restored.
15:48Tonight, the Trump administration
15:49saying it will appeal,
15:50insisting the changes were done
15:52to align with, quote, shared national values.
15:54Tonight, outside the Department of Justice
15:56in Washington, D.C.,
15:57a massive banner with President Trump's photo
15:59is now on display on the DOJ building.
16:02The DOJ saying it is celebrating its, quote,
16:04historic work to make America safe again
16:06at President Trump's direction.
16:08The banner is drawing scrutiny
16:09because the Justice Department
16:11has long worked to demonstrate independence
16:13from the executive branch.
16:15Tonight, President Trump's handpicked committee
16:17approving his massive White House ballroom project.
16:19The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
16:21giving the green light now to the ballroom,
16:2390,000 square feet,
16:25larger than the White House itself.
16:26The East Wing has already been torn down to make way.
16:30When we come back here tonight,
16:31there is news this evening.
16:32The skiers buried alive on the slopes,
16:34and now we learn many of the victims were moms.
16:37They're on a parent's trip,
16:39and what we've learned tonight.
16:40Also, a JetBlue flight making an emergency landing.
16:43Passengers racing to get off the plane on the slides.
16:46Tonight, here, the remarkable discovery,
16:48a new species of dinosaur,
16:49where it was found, and how large it was.
16:52And, of course, late today, I'm sure you heard,
16:54winning the gold,
16:55the U.S. women's hockey team beating Canada.
16:57So we'll go right to Italy here in a moment.
16:59Stay tuned.
17:02Well, tonight here, adding to the heartbreak
17:04after that deadly avalanche in Northern California
17:06where nine people were killed,
17:07we have now learned tonight
17:08that most of the group buried in the snow
17:10were mothers of students from a private skiing school
17:13called Sugar Bowl Academy
17:14together on a parent's trip.
17:16The group set out Sunday
17:17on that ill-fated backcountry trip with four guides
17:20and were making their way back to the trailhead
17:22when the avalanche the size of a football field
17:25engulfed them.
17:26We have now learned tonight
17:27that it was engine failure
17:28that forced that JetBlue flight from Newark Airport
17:30to turn around and make an emergency landing.
17:32Passengers evacuating the plane using a slide.
17:35Newark Airport actually closing
17:36for about an hour last night.
17:38Officials say no one was hurt.
17:40When we come back here tonight,
17:41the remarkable discovery of that new species of dinosaur
17:44and you'll see it.
17:45Also tonight, the Pulp Fiction actor
17:47and his cause of death.
17:48And the U.S. women's hockey team beating Canada.
17:51We'll go right to Italy in a moment.
17:54To the index in tonight,
17:55news on the cause of death for actor Peter Green,
17:57best known for his role in Pulp Fiction.
17:59Green was found dead
18:00in his New York City apartment in December.
18:02The medical examiner now says
18:04he died of a gunshot wound to his left armpit.
18:06His death ruled as accidental.
18:09Tonight, scientists announcing the discovery
18:10of a new species of dinosaur.
18:12Nat Geo explorer Paul Serino says
18:15Spinosaurus mirabilis was roughly the size of a T-Rex
18:17with a brightly colored crest on its head
18:20and lived about 95 million years ago.
18:23The findings of the expedition
18:24that discovered Spinosaurus in the Sahara Desert
18:26published in the journal Science.
18:28More at NatGeo.com.
18:31When we come back here tonight winning the gold,
18:33the U.S. women's hockey team beating Canada late today
18:35and the history made by one of the American stars
18:37on that team will go right to Italy after the break here.
18:42Tonight, the gold medal thriller
18:44for the U.S. women's hockey team late today.
18:46Janay Norman, lucky enough to watch it all
18:48right there in Italy for us.
18:49Janay?
18:51David, we were there in the arena.
18:53The atmosphere was electric as Team USA
18:56stunned Canada with a thrilling comeback win
18:58in overtime.
18:59They struggled at the start,
19:01not scoring in the first period,
19:03but they bounced back big, David.
19:05Team captain Hillary Knight tying the score at one
19:07late in the third period
19:08with her record-breaking 15th Olympic gold.
19:11And that pushed the game to sudden death overtime
19:13with Megan Keller's game-winning goal.
19:15You can see the puck going in there on the left,
19:18clinching gold for the American women.
19:20And David, if that wasn't enough,
19:22right after that win, another for Team USA,
19:24this time in figure skating,
19:2620-year-old Alyssa Liu earning gold in women's singles,
19:29the first gold medal for an American woman
19:32in that category since 2002.
19:34David, in 2002, Alyssa hadn't even been born yet.
19:38And now she's impressing us all.
19:40Janay, thanks so much.
19:40Looks like you're having fun,
19:41and we'll see you right back here tomorrow.
19:43Good night.
19:44David Muir, the most trusted anchor in America,
19:48the most watched anchor in America.
19:50Thank you for making World News Tonight
19:52with David Muir, the number one newscast in America.
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