Wednesday morning news: February 18, 2026

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Iran talks » U.S. officials reportedly made progress in nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva Tuesday.

The Iranians say they’ll provide detailed proposals within the next two weeks to try and bridge the gaps between the two sides.

But Vice President JD Vance says Tehran still has a ways to go before President Trump will be satisfied. And he said the president’s bottom line is clear: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

VANCE:   We don't want nuclear proliferation. If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, there are a lot of other regimes, some friendly, some not so friendly, who would get nuclear weapons after them. That would be a disaster for the American people.

And U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Michael Waltz was more direct about exactly what the United States demands.

WALTZ:  Iran has to give up its enrichment capability. It has to give up its already enriched, highly enriched uranium. Uh, also its support for terrorism, uh, and its long range ballistic missiles.

Meantime, in a rare show of force, Iran says it temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz for live fire military drills on Tuesday.

That comes as President Trump has threatened military action if Iran does not curb its nuclear program.

The U.S. recently sent another aircraft carrier to the Middle East as part of a military buildup near Iran.

Ukraine talks » Also in Geneva Tuesday, the latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine began again, but no signs yet of any major progress. And it comes as Russian forces continue their attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine.

SOUND: [Another Odesa attack]

Russia launched a drone strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. Local authorities say three people were injured.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed Moscow for ordering attacks on the same day peace talks began.

The strike was only the latest complication amid talks that many expected to focus on security and humanitarian issues.

Fetterman on DHS shutdown » And in Washington, 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 Democrats in the Senate is not on board with the shutdown. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman notes that it is not affecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement — or ICE.

FETTERMAN:  They have plenty of money after the Big, Beautiful bill, so that, why shut this down? You can want to reform ICE, and I do, but that's not going to have the impact. But you are willing to shut down all of those very important parts.

The shutdown is impacting agencies including TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard.

Republicans have agreed to new measures such as requiring federal agents to wear body cameras. But Democrats also want ICE agents to remove their face masks and obtain judicial warrants in more situations, which GOP members oppose.

Congress is not in session at the moment, meaning there will be no new funding for DHS until at least next week.

New drug boat strikes » The U.S. military says it has carried out strikes against three more boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters. 

WORLD's Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: 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 in generations.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Warner Bros reopens takeover talks with Paramount » Warner Bros. Discovery is briefly reopening takeover talks with Paramount to hear the company’s “best and final” offer.

In a Tuesday regulatory filing, Warner said that Netflix had granted it a waiver to open discussions with Paramount for seven days.

But in the meantime, Warner’s board is still recommending that shareholders support its proposed merger with Netflix.

But even if approved, a Warner Bros Discovery merger with Netflix will face tough questions from federal regulators.

I'm Kent Covington.

And straight ahead on Washington Wednesday: Europe responds to Marco Rubio’s speech. Plus, farmers work to solve a labor shortage.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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