NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Sunday, February 16, 2026

Episode Date: February 17, 2026

Sheriff says Nancy Guthrie’s family, spouses not suspects in abduction; At least two killed, three hurt in Rhode Island hockey game shooting; Elana Meyers Taylor ties record for most decorated American woman at Winter Olympics; and more on tonight’s broadcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're following two breaking stories as we come on the air. Nancy Guthrie's family officially ruled out as suspects in her disappearance. Plus, the deadly shooting during a high school hockey match. But in Tucson tonight, police clearing the family and their spouses as suspects. More than two weeks since Nancy was taken, will DNA on a glove found nearby lead investigators to a suspect? Also breaking the deadly shooting inside of a Rhode Island hockey arena. The moments the gunmen started firing, caught on camera, students racing to safety across the ice as families in the stands run for their lives. Two dead plus the shooter what we're learning tonight.

The fiery home explosion, how a man inside got out alive as 50 other homes are forced to evacuate. Also tonight, the American Olympian who just tied the record for the most medals ever for a woman in the Winter Olympics. As Ilya Malinin opens up about his disastrous performance, what he's saying about the pressure he felt. Plus, the curling controversy was this finger touch illegal? The profane shouting match on the ice as accusations fly. Powerful storms slamming millions out west, dumping feet of snow and unleashing dangerous flash floods. A woman trapped in a cave hundreds of feet below for 17 hours, the daring rescue to free her. and meet the moms making their mark on the winter games.

How these incredible athletes balance motherhood and meddling. Nightly News starts right now. This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. And good evening. We begin tonight with major new developments on the case that's now gone unsolved for more than two weeks. The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of our colleague, Savannah. The Pima County Sheriff announcing that investigators, have officially cleared the Guthrie family, siblings and spouses included of any wrongdoing in this case,

calling any suggestion to the contrary, quote, cruel. Police now focusing on a glove, similar to the one you see right here in these terrifying doorbell camera images, found just a couple miles from Nancy's home, with the FBI right now trying to match the male DNA they found on it. All of this, as the Guthrie family continues to live through this nightmare, Savannah reached, out to her mother's kidnapper in a new video that we're about to show you saying it's never too late to do the right thing let's get right to liz croix in tucson with the latest tonight more than two weeks into the search for nancy guthrie the pema county sheriff for the first time point blank ruling out any of the guthrie family members including siblings and spouses as possible suspects

saying to suggest otherwise is not only wrong it is cruel the guthry family are victims plain and simple. As the search drags on, investigators zeroing in on a single piece of evidence found two miles from Nancy's home. A discarded glove, the FBI says, contains unknown male DNA. A person familiar with the matter says unlike the other 15 gloves found in the search area, this one is consistent with the one seen on the suspect in the surveillance video. But how relevant it will be is unclear. No female DNA was found. I think we need to use a lot of caution about jumping to conclusions with the glove. If there were other aspects of that glove that tied it to either Nancy or someone who's already been looked at as a person of interest, then it would raise

very quickly in priority. But at this point, it's more like a Hail Mary. Still, the FBI says they're putting the DNA from the glove into their national database. Another question, the suspects close, like the mask and zip-up jacket. The sheriff says it's possible that like the suspect's backpack, clothes were also purchased at a Walmart. He says they're currently working with Walmart management to determine who, if anyone, bought all or some of those items. The sheriff is also hoping even more video could be retrieved from the other Ness cameras on Nancy's property. You're working with the tech companies still? Yeah, we've asked them and they're working as best they can. Google, which owns Nest, has not responded to NBC News's request for comment about if they're

working to recover more. Tonight, President Trump weighing in on the case again, saying hopefully there will be a positive result. And in an interview with the New York Post, when asked if the DOJ would request the death penalty if Nancy is not returned alive, saying, yeah, that's true. This, as Savannah says her family is not giving up hope, pleading with her mother's captor. It is never too late to do the right thing. Liz Kreutz joins us now live once again from outside Nancy's home. Liz, you mentioned the DNA on those gloves. Are there any updates on the DNA sample that was taken from inside the property? Well, Tom, the sheriff tells me that's what his investigators are actively working on right now today. The big question continues to be whose DNA is that?

And is it a match for the glove or any potential suspect? Tom. All right, Liz, we thank you for that. There were terrifying moments at a high school hockey game today, a gunman in Rhode Island, opening fire while players were on the ice, killing at least two people and himself. Emily Aketa has the late-breaking details. Tonight, tragedy on the ice. We have shots fired multiple people down at the witch arena. A shooter opening fire at a high school hockey game this afternoon in Patucket, Rhode Island,

killing two and injuring three others, according to police. The chaos unfolding with players still on the ice, people in the stand scrambling to safety. It appears that this was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute. Police say it appears the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but the investigation is ongoing. A massive police presence seen sprawled across the parking lot taped off as a crowd gathered in the back lot near a school bus, hockey sticks and skates in tow, some still in hockey jerseys.

It was senior night. This was an isolated incident in some ways. It's tragic. The teams with players from multiple schools were playing at Dennis M. Lynch Arena, about five miles north of Providence. A community still reeling from a shooting that killed two students and nine others, at Brown University in December. 18-year-old Kevin Hernandez lives nearby.

It's so devastating, you know, to hear about something so similar happened two months ago over at Brown and now some place that I pass by every day. The Providence Bruins posting tonight, our thoughts are with all those affected by the tragic events at the high school hockey game, leaving this close-knit community rattled. Emily, joins us now live in studio, and Emily, any updates on those that were injured in the shooting? So police say three people are in critical condition after being shot. They have not released any names or ages of anyone as the investigation ramps up. Okay, Emily, thank you for that.

We're going to take a turn now to Italy in the Winter Games, where an American bobsledder made Olympic history today, racking up a record-tie number of medals. Stephanie Gosk reports tonight from Milan. For Alana Myers-Taylor, her first Olympic gold. That elusive is elusive no more. Adding to three silver and two bronze medals now tied for the most decorated American woman in Winter Olympics history. Teammate Kaylee Humphreys grabbed the bronze.

Flags and children at the bottom to celebrate their success. The U.S. women's hockey team is simply unstoppable, beating Sweden 5-0. A lopsided battle from the moment the puck dropped. The U.S. women won silver in Beijing, and it was a bitter pill to swallow. They lost to Canada at three-two. But they have been dominating this tournament, and their fans are here for it. Can you believe you are about to play for an Olympic gold medal? No, it's crazy to think about it. It's unbelievable, and I'm just so honored even to be in that position.

The gold medal seems inevitable, but at the Olympics, nothing is inevitable, especially in an individual sport like figure skating, Ilya Malin in processing his devastating performance, posting today, on the world's biggest stage, those who appear the strongest, may still be fighting invisible battles. Malinen describing what he calls endless insurmountable pressure. With so much on the line, that pressure can boil over like it did in curling

when the Swedish team accused the Canadians of breaking the rules and touching the stones granite. Who? I haven't done it once. You can fuck. You haven't done it once? Curling officials warned the Canadians

about their language, but did not determine that any rules were broken. The team is still in the hunt for a medal. there's more figures getting to come than women start their competition tomorrow. The U.S. has three strong contenders, Amber Glenn, Alyssa Liu, and Isabel Lovito. Tom. Can't wait to watch all that action. All right, Stephanie, thank you.

Back here at home, we are following a massive house explosion in Virginia that has forced an entire neighborhood, some 50 families, to evacuate their homes. The terrifying moments after the blasts have been caught on camera. Drew Wilder from NBC4 in Washington is at the scene tonight. Huge fire. A massive explosion sparking this shocking scene. It's insane. A house engulfed in flames in Centerville, Virginia, first responders rushing to the area last night.

It looks like it appeared to be a one-story house over a garage, fully involved. The fire spreading and rattling neighbors, more than 50 homes forced to evacuate. It just sounded like a loud explosion, and then the sky was red. Fire officials say one man was home at the time of the blast and escaped with minor injuries. He was on his back deck and they told him to just jump. And I think the younger neighbor caught him and helped him get out of the yard safely. This video shows firefighters searching with flashlights through the smoldering rubble. Fire and rescue officials confirmed there was a gas leak in the area,

but they say it's too early to say if the gas leak caused the explosion. They also haven't found that gas leak just yet. All day they've been digging up the roads in the area looking for the pipe that has the leak. Officials say the day before the explosion, there were reports of a strong odor in the area. People in the area smelled gas, both inside and outside of their residences. As tonight authorities say the investigation into what happened could take days. Drew Wilder, NBC News, Centerfield, Virginia.

All right, also tonight we're tracking some dangerous storms out west that are just getting fired up. Take a look at this video of blizzard-like conditions there in the Sierra Nevada's, and there's heavy flooding around L.A. as well. Al Roker is here tonight tracking it all for us. Now we could see feet of snow and inches of rain for day. Absolutely. And Tom, they need that snow, but they certainly don't need that rain. You can see right now, we've got strong winds, wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour, tree damage, power outages. We also have 11 million people under flash flood warnings and flood watches for Southern California. Witterstorm watches, advisories, and warnings for 5 million people. We're talking about some places the Sierra Nevada could see upwards of eight feet of snow, whereas we're looking at anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of rain from San Francisco down to San Diego. Diego. Flooding is a possibility. And we've got 13 million people at risk for red flag warnings and fire weather watches because of single digit humidity and intense wind gust, Tom, of up to 85

miles per hour. So a lot going on. Fire and ice. All right. We thank you for that, Al. We want to show you some images now of a daring rescue hundreds of feet below the earth's surface. Rescue teams jumping into action after a researcher was seriously injured far down one of the deepest caves in Texas. Ryan Chandler and how they got her out. The heart-stopping rescue heralded as a miracle deep under the Texas desert. A team of researchers was surveying an underground river nearly 500 feet down in Sorcerer's Cave when disaster struck. I heard a crash and then nothing. A massive rock striking a climber on the head.

Then we heard some moaning and we could not get response from our team member that was down. below. David Sanderson's family owns this property and he led the team underground. You have these steep drops and then you choke down into cracks and crevices. You have to squeeze through and crawlways. Rescurers moved the researcher through obstacles like gaps just a foot wide and pools of bat guano waist high. What did it take to perform a rescue like this? It took teamwork. It could have been much, much worse. But after 17 hours underground, the researcher emerged. She suffered a fractured skull and vertebrae. She's stable tonight in the ICU, but she's safe tonight after an improbable rescue from the deaths. It truly takes us all out here. None of us have enough resources by our own

department to accomplish this. It takes us all working together. Ryan Chandler, NBC News. When we're back in a moment with the high-speed chase caught on camera, police look at this, deploying a grappler claw to stop a suspected drunk driver. We'll show you more. Next. We're back now with a murder mystery in Costa Rica. Local officials say Kurt Van Dyke, a well-known American surfer and hotel owner, was killed after two armed men allegedly broke into his apartment and stole valuable.

So far, no word yet on any suspects. Now to a wild highway pursuit just south of Seattle, watches the deputies deploy a grappler device to stop the suspected drunk drunk drunk drunk. driver. The deputy rams into the car to activate the grappler. It's like a claw, causing the driver to lose control barreling into another car before clipping that big rig. And a Pokemon card breaks a Guinness World Record. YouTube star Logan Paul sold his rare Pokemon card. Get this for about $16.5 million, the most expensive Pokemon card ever sold at auction. When we come back, the mom's dominating at the Olympics. How Motherhood is powering their pursuit of gold.

That's next. Back now with an aerial look at the sliding center in Cortina, where two American moms won medals today. Their kids were there to celebrate with them. In all nine moms are representing Team USA at the games. Molly Hunter is there for us. Time! Waiting for Alana Myers-Taylor at the finish line,

her two biggest fans on any race day, but especially tonight, her son's Nico and Noah. To be able to do this with my kids, both my kids, like, it's just incredible. joined on the podium by teammate and fellow mom Kaylee Humphreys taking home bronze. But for Myers-Taylor, nothing compares to having her family by her side. It's chaos. It is chaos. But it's a dream come true. Like my kids are my dream.

And her motivation. Both her sons are disabled. Her eldest has Down syndrome. So with him, I wanted to see me going out there and competing. And I want him to see that, hey, people are going to tell you no. And as a 41-year-old mother of two, people have told me no. There are nine moms on Team USA, including curling sisters Tara and Tabitha Peterson. Go, go, go, go.

Both returned to training within weeks of giving birth. Just learning as we become new moms and balancing that with still training. And just it was a learning curve at first, but we made it here. Yeah, and also just the village behind us. Like when we say we did this, we made it, it's not just us. It's all the people behind us. And kids of Olympians from all over the world stealing the show. Like Italian speed skater, Francesco Lolo Brigitte's toddler, after she won gold, the son of these Swiss curlers,

and this viral picture of the dual moguls medalist, all new dads. Now a gold medalist, Myers-Taylor, still wants to make one thing very clear. Motherhood is way more difficult than qualifying for the Olympics and winning Olympic medals. Molly Hunter, NBC News, Cortina. Primetime Olympics coverage kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. right here on NBC and Peacock. That's Nightly News for this Monday. I'm Tom Yamas. Thanks so much for watching tonight.

And always, we're here for you. Good night.