Skiers Missing After Avalanche Near Lake Tahoe; Trump Announces $36 Billion in Deals With Japan | NTD Good Morning (Feb. 18)

A search is continuing for a group of skiers after an avalanche struck on Feb. 17 near Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Authorities say six people have been rescued, but 10 remain missing. The Nevada County Sheriff’s office says two skiers have been transported to a hospital for treatment. According to a forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center, the group was on the final day of a three-day trip when the avalanche hit.

President Donald Trump has announced three new projects with Japan worth a total of $36 billion, as the first stage of a trade deal with Japan that ultimately includes more than half a trillion dollars of funding for U.S. manufacturing and energy development. The first phase of the agreement includes a natural gas power facility in Ohio capable of generating 9.2 gigawatts of electricity, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump has credited his tariffs for helping secure the agreement, saying the scale of the projects is so large that it could not have been done without them.

U.S. Southern Command said that the U.S. military struck three suspected drug-trafficking vessels on Feb. 16, killing a total of 11 people. Two of the boats were in the Eastern Pacific, with four people killed on each boat; another three were killed on a boat struck in the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command said in a Feb. 17 statement. The trio of strikes was part of Operation Southern Spear, which began in September 2025. A U.S. Southern Command spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times that U.S. forces have struck 42 drug vessels in the course of the operation, killing 144 people. The spokesperson said the number of dead includes 11 individuals who survived initial U.S. strikes before drowning at sea.