WORLD Radio News - WORLD Radio News: 2-18-26 (2/3)

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

The latest headlines in three minutes from WORLD updated three times throughout the day.Sign-up for the daily Sift email at thesift.org.Support sound journalism, grounded in facts and Biblical truth at wng.org/donate.Additional support comes from WatersEdge. Competitive rates and supporting churches. 4.55% APY on a 13-month term investment. WatersEdge.com/invest

With World Radio News, I'm Kent Covington. In Washington, there is still no sign that the partial government shutdown is any closer to ending. Funding has expired for the Department of Homeland Security with Democrats blocking funds as they demand changes to immigration enforcement. But at least one Democrat in the Senate is not on board with the shutdown. Pennsylvania Senator John Federman notes that it is not affecting immigration and customs enforcement or ICE. They have plenty of money after the big, beautiful, bill. So why shut this down? You can want to reform ICE, and I do, but that's not going to have the impact. But the shutdown is impacting agencies, including the TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard. Congress is

not in session at the moment, meaning there will be no new funding for DHS until at least next week. The latest round of U.S. brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine began again in Geneva yesterday, even as Russian forces continue their attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine. Russia launched another drone strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Local authorities, say three people were injured. Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky,

slammed Moscow for ordering attacks on the same day peace talks began. The U.S. military says it has carried out strikes on three more boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters. World's Kristen Flavin has more. The series of strikes carried out killed 11 people. The Pentagon says all of them were part of groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

The military says it struck two boats carrying four people each in the eastern Pacific Ocean and a third boat carrying three people in the Caribbean. The Pentagon has reportedly ordered more than 40 such attacks. President Trump launched a campaign back in September to target cartel vessels. The president last year ordered one of the largest. military buildups in the Caribbean and generations. For World, I'm Kristen Flavin. The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson has died at the age of 84.

Jackson rose to national prominence in the Civil Rights Movement after working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And later founded Operation Push and the Rainbow Coalition. We must be strong, be caring, not careless, loving, not rejecting, put character over color. Jackson heard there during the March on Washington in 1993. Supporters saw Jackson as a leading voice and champion for poor and minority rights. Critics accused him of using racial issues to enrich himself becoming a millionaire as a political operative. For World Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

For more sound journalism grounded in facts and biblical truth, visit worldradio.com. Additional support comes from Waters Edge, competitive rates, and supporting church. 4.55% APY on a 13-month-term investment. Watersedge.com slash invest.