ALPHA MAG

By Nate Raymond

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Two major medical groups filed lawsuits on Tuesday accusing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission of launching investigations into them concerning their support of gender-affirming care for transgender youth ‌as part of an effort by President Donald Trump's administration to retaliate against them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics ‌and the Endocrine Society filed separate lawsuits in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenging demands the FTC made last month that they turn over ​an array of information as part of what the groups called an unconstitutional effort to punish them for their support for treating transgender youth and to silence them.

The groups called the FTC's document demands overbroad and said they were issued to intimidate them in violation of the U.S. Constitution's protections against government abridgment of free speech after earlier disagreements with the Trump administration.

"Unable ‌to prevail in the marketplace of ideas, ⁠the FTC has resorted to burdening AAP with an intrusive and expensive investigation that is unconstitutional and outside the scope of the FTC's statutory authority," AAP alleged in its lawsuit, which ⁠seeks a judicial order blocking the document request as unconstitutional.

The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FTC is a federal agency that enforces various antitrust and consumer protection laws.

It issued a civil investigative demand, akin to a subpoena, on ​January ​15 to AAP as part of a probe into whether it ​made false claims or engaged in unfair practices ‌in connection with the marketing and advertising of "pediatric gender dysphoria treatment," according to court papers.

Gender dysphoria is the clinical diagnosis for significant distress that can result from an incongruence between a person's gender identity and sex at birth.

The Endocrine Society, which represents doctors who specialize in conditions related to hormones, said it received a similar civil investigative demand on January 20.

The FTC's demands came nearly a year after Trump in January 2025 signed executive orders that declared the United States ‌would recognize only two sexes, male and female, and directed agencies ​to end all federal funding or support for gender-affirming care for minors.

In ​its Tuesday lawsuit, AAP said the FTC was ​targeting it to punish it for a 2018 policy statement the group issued related to gender-affirming ‌care, stating its backing for appropriate medical interventions ​to support transgender youth.

Three days ​before the FTC's document demand, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from terminating nearly $12 million in grant funding awarded to the AAP that was canceled after it clashed with Health Secretary ​Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his ‌changes to vaccine policy.

AAP is pursuing a separate lawsuit challenging efforts by federal health regulators under Kennedy ​to reshape vaccine policy in ways it says will lower immunization rates, harming public health.

(Reporting by Nate ​Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham and Ethan Smith)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians in Gaza are preparing to welcome the Muslim holy month ofRamadanunder afragile ceasefiredeal, but many say the challenges of their daily lives and the losses of theIsrael-Hamas warare dampening the typically festive spirit.

"There is no joy after we lost our family and loved ones," said Gaza City resident Fedaa Ayyad. "Even if we try to cope with the situation, we can't truly feel it in our hearts. … I am one of those who cannot feel the atmosphere of Ramadan."

In Gaza, the first day of the holy month is Wednesday. During Ramadan, observant Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset. In normal circumstances, the month often brings families and friends together to break their fast in joyous gatherings. For Muslims, it's a time for increased worship, religious reflection and charity.

Circumstances in Gaza are far from normal. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory's residents. Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in theirattack on Oct. 7, 2023.

As Gaza residents visited markets this week, some lamented that economic woes cast a pall on the month.

"There is no cash among the people. There is no work. It's true that it is Ramadan, but Ramadan requires money," said Gaza City resident Waleed Zaqzouq. He said merchants should consider people's financial hardships.

Before the war, "people lived a dignified life," he said. "The situation has completely changed in the war, meaning people have been devastated and worn down."

TheOct. 10 U.S.-brokered ceasefire dealattempted to halt more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, there has beenalmost daily Israeli firein Gaza.

Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. But it does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on Israeli troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed.

Gaza's winter has highlighted the grim conditions of the displaced residents and the many needs of the enclave and its people. Severe cold has causedchild deathsin Gaza, and torrential rain hasflooded displacement campsand collapsed already badly damaged buildings.

"There is much that has changed from this Ramadan to Ramadan before the war," said Raed Koheel, who lives in Gaza City. "In the past, the atmosphere was more delightful. The streets were lit up with decorations. All streets had decorations. Our children were happy."

Still, amid the hardships, some in the Gaza Strip have worked to bring a taste of Ramadan's festivities.

Surrounded by ruins and crumbled buildings in Khan Younis, calligrapher and artist Hani Dahman dipped his brush in paint and wrote "Welcome, Ramadan" in Arabic as children watched.

"We are here in Khan Younis camp, trying to bring happiness to the hearts of children, women, men and entire families," Dahman said. "We are … sending a message to the world that we are people who seek life."

Strands of Ramadan decorations were hung among the ruins. Mohammed Taniri watched the decorations take shape.

"When they provide such beautiful, simple decorations, it brings joy to the children," he said. "Despite all the hardships, they are trying to create a beautiful atmosphere."

Associated Press writer Mariam Fam in Cairo contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP'scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Six backcountry skiers were found alive and 10 others were missing Tuesday after anavalanchein Northern California as apowerful winter stormmoved through the state.

Search and rescue crews were dispatched to Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, after someone called 911 at about 11:30 a.m. to report an avalanche with people buried.

Hours later, Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, said the six skiers had been located and were asked to shelter in place "as best they can" until they can be reached, adding that some 46 first responders were working on their rescue.

Three rescue teams, two on skis and one in a snowcat, were making their way to the group, which included four ski guides, Quadros said. The sheriff's office posted videos of three rescuers carrying skis as they walked in blizzard-like conditions.

The group was on the last day of a three-day backcountry skiing trip, said Steve Reynaud, a Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. Reynaud said his group has had contact with people on the ground in the area. He said the skiers had spent two nights at huts on a trip that required navigating "rugged mountainous terrain" on backcountry skis for up to four miles (6.4 kilometers) and bringing along all food and supplies.

California is being walloped this week by a powerful winter storm carrying treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

"It's particularly dangerous in the backcountry right now just because we're at the height of the storm," said Brandon Schwartz, Tahoe National Forest lead avalanche forecaster at the Sierra Avalanche Center based in Truckee.

The center issued an avalanche warning for the area in the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday with large slides expected to occur through Tuesday and into Wednesday.

The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snowfall piling on already fragile snowpack layers coupled with gale-force winds.

Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe were fully or partially closed due to the extreme weather. The resorts along highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry where travel in, near, or below the avalanche terrain was strongly discouraged, the center said.

Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot (2,777-meter) peak in the Donner Summit area of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular backcountry skiing destination.

In the nearby town of Soda Springs, at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow had fallen in the last 24 hours, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

Forecasters said the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in northern Shasta County — including portions of Interstate 5 — and parts of the state's Pacific Coast Range could see up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday.

The storm wreaked havoc on roadways spanning from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to spinouts and crashes, the California Department of Transportation reported.

In January, an avalanche in the region buried asnowmobilerin snow and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.

Watson reported from San Diego.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will end their lengthy retirements frommixed martial artsto fight each other May 16 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

The two pioneering fighters announced their returns Tuesday for a bout that will be staged by Most Valuable Promotions, the combat sports promotion established by influencer-turned-boxerJake Pauland his business partner, Nakisa Bidarian. The show will be broadcast onNetflix.

The 39-year-old Rousey hasn't fought since 2016, while the 43-year-old Carano's eight-bout MMA career ended in 2009. They'll fight at 145 pounds for five five-minute rounds.

Despite their lengthy absences, Rousey and Carano remain two of the most iconic fighters in MMA history for their trailblazing careers. Carano led their once-outlawed sport into the mainstream of broadcast television, while Rousey secured the enthusiastic acceptance of women's MMA by Dana White and the UFC.

Rousey (12-2) rose to become arguably the biggest star in all of MMA after winning an Olympic medal in judo in 2008. Her armbar finishes and cage charisma singlehandedly prompted White to begin promotion of women's MMA, with Rousey at the center of his plans.

Rousey won the UFC's first-ever women's bout in 2013 to claim the bantamweight title belt, and she still holds the promotion's record with six title defenses. After ending 11 of her first 12 fights in the first round, her career abruptly stalled when she lost back-to-back bouts toHolly Holmand Amanda Nunes, prompting her to move on to acting, professional wrestling and motherhood.

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"Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest super fight in women's combat sport history!" Rousey said. "This is for all MMA fans past, present and future."

Carano (7-1) fought in the first Nevada-sanctioned MMA bout between women in 2006, and she won a series of fights that made her a network television draw in the sport's early days. She was stopped by Cris "Cyborg" Justino in her most recent fight in August 2009, and she moved on to an acting career despite repeated rumors of a return to the cage.

"Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for, and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us," Carano said. "She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honor. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community."

Carano, who turns 44 in April, landed several prominent film roles and became a cast member ofDisney's "The Mandalorian" before her contract was not renewed in 2021 after she expressed controversial right-wing views in a series of social media posts.Carano settled a lawsuitlast year against Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company over her claim that she was fired for the posts.

Paul's Most Valuable Promotions is making its first foray into MMA promotion after four years of promoting boxing.

AP MMA:https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

Former NBA player and coach Doug Moe has died at the age of 87, former NBA player Bill Hanzlikshared via Xon Tuesday. Hanzlik played under Moe for eight seasons with the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets later confirmed the news with a post in memoriam:

pic.twitter.com/EJeDNDFdmZ

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets)February 17, 2026

Moe is credited with revolutionizing the "passing game offense" in the NBA, emphasizing constant movement and a notorious "two-second rule" — pushing players to either pass the ball or shoot as quickly as the rule's name would imply.

Moe spent four years as an assistant coach before earning his first job as a head coach with the San Antonio Spurs, leading the team to a 117-135 record over four seasons before heading to Denver as an assistant coach. He was then promoted to interim head coach and spent 10 seasons with the team.

Moe led the Nuggets to a 432-357 record over 10 seasons; those 432 wins made him the winningest coach in franchise history, prior to Michael Malone earning his 433rd win with the team in 2024. The Nuggets made the playoffs in each of Moe's nine seasons as a full-time head coach, though the Nuggets failed to ever make it past the conference finals.

Moe earned NBA Coach of the Year honors in the 1987-88 season. That year, the Nuggets finished first in the NBA Midwest with a 54-28 record, leading the league with 116.7 points per game. After defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, they fell in the semifinals to the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite leading the team to two Midwest Division titles in his tenure, Moe was fired by the Nuggets after the 1989-1990 season as the team looked toward its future under new leadership. Bernie Bickerstaff — the first African American president and GM in franchise history — was hired in the summer of 1990 andfired Moe not long after.

Moe was a two-time All-American out of UNC, selected first by the Detroit Pistons in the 1960 draft, followed by the former Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards) in the second round of the 1961 draft. Despite having been drafted, his connection to a point-shaving scandal in college followed him, and he was eventually blackballed by the league for his connection to the alleged scheme,despite later being cleared of any wrongdoing.

Moe went on to earn theChuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Awardfrom the league in 2018.

Feb 17 (Reuters) - The recent drop in unauthorized immigration to the United States has slowed employment growth, particularly in construction and manufacturing, ‌and those trends are likely to continue, new research from the ‌San Francisco Federal Reserve published on Tuesday shows.

The study looked at the rapid rise in ​unauthorized immigrants beginning in 2021 and the slowdown that began in March 2024, and found that local job growth grew, and then shrank, in lockstep with those immigration trends. The findings could have important implications for the job market ‌outlook and for housing affordability, ⁠given the ongoing crackdown on immigration during Donald Trump's second term as president.

Revisions to jobs data published last week ⁠showed the U.S. economy added only 181,000 jobs in 2025, a fraction of the 1.459 million jobs added in 2024, the final full year of former President ​Joe Biden's ​term. Economists have linked the slowdown ​to the sharp drop in immigration, ‌but this latest study helps make that link concrete by its detailed analysis of unauthorized worker inflows and the impact on local labor markets.

"On average, places experiencing the biggest slowdowns in unauthorized immigration saw the biggest slowdowns in employment growth in construction, manufacturing, and other services," wrote Fed economists Daniel ‌Wilson and Xiaoqing Zhou. "The effect for the ​construction sector is particularly notable, because it suggests ​that falling UIWF (unauthorized immigrant worker ​flows) in recent months could be slowing residential construction ‌and hence slowing down the growth of ​housing supply."

The Trump ​administration has said the reduction in immigration will benefit American workers, and will help make housing more affordable by reducing demand for homes.

"U.S. ​employment growth is likely ‌to face continued downward pressure as long as the ongoing declines ​in unauthorized immigrant worker flows continue," the study's authors wrote.

(Reporting by ​Ann Saphir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

At least four people are dead in a multi-vehicle pileup in Colorado and multiple fires are breaking out across the Plains as powerful winds wreak havoc across the region.

The pileup on Interstate 25 south of Pueblo, Colorado, involved over 30 vehicles as winds gusted up to 61 mph, blowing dust and dirt around, reducing visibility and causing "brown out" conditions.

Colorado State Police Maj. Brian Lyons described the wind event as moving in very quickly.

"Visibility was next to nothing," he said.

At least 29 people were taken to the hospital with injuries, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Their injuries were described as minor to moderate, with a "few" described as serious. Ten people who were not injured were provided transportation away from the scene to keep out of the elements, Lyons said.

A three-mile stretch of the interstate remains shut down between mile markers 91 and 94 and there is no estimated reopening time, the Colorado Department of Transportation said.

The same powerful winds are causing fire weather conditions to go downhill fast in a "particularly dangerous situation" fire threat that's gripping the region.

A wildfire that broke out late Tuesday morning in Beaver County, Oklahoma, rapidly crossed into southwest Kansas in just a few hours. It's burned about 15,000 acres as of Tuesday afternoon, according to theOklahoma Forestry Service.

The fire is threatening at least two communities in Kansas. Evacuations are underway in Englewood and Ashland, according to CNN affiliateKAKE. At least one health center in Ashland, a town of around 700 people, reported it was evacuating in asocial media post.

In northwest Kansas, an evacuation order is also in effect for the town of Herndon due to a nearby wildfire,the National Weather Service in Goodlandsaid Tuesday afternoon.

Farther south, officials issued a fire warning Tuesday afternoon in the Texas Panhandle for a "dangerous wildfire" about four miles east of Goodnight, Texas, that was moving northeast at 3 to 5 mph.

More than 750,000 people in parts of five states across the Plains are facing Level 3 of 3 extremely critical fire weather conditions – damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, extremely dry air and ample dead, dry vegetation – Tuesday.

"This is a Particularly Dangerous Situation," the National Weather Service said in a red flag warning. "If fires start, they will spread rapidly and will be extremely difficult to control."

Wind gusts are cranking up across a widespread area in the Plains and will only increase through the afternoon. Burlington, Colorado, clocked a gust of 71 mph and gusts over 60 mph have been observed in western Kansas and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles.

Past wildfires sparked in similar conditions have been devastating:2024's Smokehouse Creek Firein the Texas Panhandle, the state's largest wildfire, burned through more than 500 structures.

The fire weather concerns will peak this afternoon as winds are strongest and humidity levels bottom out to their lowest level between 10 to 15%. Conditions will remain dangerous into the early evening hours before easing up overnight.

Tuesday's strong winds in the Plains are also generating more than just dangerous fire conditions.

High-profile vehicles like semi-trucks could be blown over and any dust lofted into the air could cause poor visibility for drivers. Scattered power outages are also possible.

Another storm could kick up winds and increase fire danger to critical conditions, the second-highest level, tomorrow afternoon in the southern High Plains, from eastern New Mexico and West Texas into the Oklahoma Panhandle, southwest Kansas and southeast Colorado.

CNN's Eric Zerkel contributed to this report.

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