Today's Top Stories from NBC News

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2026

In today's newsletter: Why some Republicans are not backing Trump's election bill. Nine skiers are still missing after an avalanche in California. And the contrasting stories of three U.S. figure skaters at the Olympics.

Here's what to know today.

▼ The Lead

Trump's election bill tops 50 Senate votes, but Democrats could still block it

The Trump-supported SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship nationwide to register to vote, has officially topped 50 votes in the Senate.

The bill passed the House last week, and now the Senate's 60-vote filibuster rule remains the only barrier to it becoming law.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the bill's chief sponsor, is pushing Republicans to use existing rules to force Democrats to engage in a "talking filibuster" on the Senate floor, hoping to tire out anyone in opposition.

Republicans control 53 seats in the Senate, but some in the party have not signed on to the measure.

Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called it an example of the "one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington," while Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has said states should run their own elections without federal intrusion.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill was designed to disenfranchise Americans who don't readily have access to a birth certificate or passport.

And Majority Leader John Thune warned that there are "not even close" to enough votes for getting rid of the filibuster. If it remains intact, Democrats are certain to use every tool to block it.

Read the full story here.

Nine skiers are missing after an avalanche Tuesday near the town of Truckee, California, authorities said. Six were rescued.

The avalanche came down near Castle Peak, a popular ski destination northwest of Lake Tahoe, the Nevada County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office said the six people who survived were rescued by a team who navigated treacherous conditions for several hours to reach them.

"Two of the six skiers have been transported to a hospital for treatment. The search is ongoing, pending weather conditions," a spokeswoman said.

Russell Greene, a captain with the sheriff's office, said that a mountain guide service reported the avalanche about 11:30 a.m. and that it was also reported, separately, through an emergency beacon device.

Greene said the six survivors had taken shelter in a treed area near the site.

The National Weather Service said 3 to 4 inches of snow were falling per hour in some areas near the incident site, creating hazardous conditions and limiting visibility for rescue teams.

Read the latest on the rescue efforts here.

Olympics recap: A tale of three skates for the United States' 'Blade Angels'

Three American figure skaters — Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito — took part Tuesday in one of the signature moments of every Winter Olympics, the women's single skating event.

Liu placed third after scoring 76.59 in the short program, putting her in medal position for Thursday's free skate.

Amber Glenn nailed her triple axel jump on Tuesday but stumbled later and fell to 13th and Isabeau Levito marked her Olympic debut with a poised performance, finishing eighth.

Team USA's Mac Forehand won silver in the freestyling skiing big air final, falling to Norway's Tormod Frostad, who managed a near-perfect 195.5 out of a maximum 200.

Ilia Malinin entered the 2026 Winter Olympics under intense spotlight with the expectation he would win gold in the men's figure skating individual event. He said on "TODAY," "I was not ready to handle that to a full extent."

Keep track of Team USA's medal count. Follow live updates on our blog, see today's full schedule here, and sign up for The Sports Desk newsletter to get daily dispatches from Milan and Cortina

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▼ Read All About It

After political pressure over safety concerns, AI toy company Miko is including an on-off switch in its products.

A wildfire has prompted an evacuation order of roughly 4,000 residents in a town about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

Actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested in New Orleans during Mardi Gras after causing a disturbance and allegedly hitting two people, police said.

"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert said CBS did not air his Monday interview with Texas Rep. James Talarico out of fear of backlash from the FCC.

▼ Staff Pick

Three economists grabbed a beer. A multibillion-dollar industry was born.

I knew that prediction markets had been kicking around for a while — but I had no idea just how long until I took a closer look at their history and evolution. Before phone apps like Kalshi and Polymarket, betting on elections used to be a national pastime in the U.S., during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The first modern prediction market, created in 1988, was an academic exercise by three economists in Iowa who came up with the idea of wagering money on elections — to see if it might produce more accurate results than polls — while they shared a few beers over lunch.

I was lucky enough to track down Robert Forsythe, the last living founder of the Iowa Electronic Markets. He shared his story with me — and offered his thoughts on the multibillion-dollar apps that would spring, decades later, from the seeds that he and his colleagues had planted.

— Suzy Khimm, national reporter