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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.

Residential home construction in California

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.

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"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 4 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.

At least 29 people were taken to the hospital with injuries, according to the Colorado State Patrol, which did not provide any additional information on the severity of those injuries.

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.

To the south, officials issued a 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.

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"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 reach their peak 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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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., arrested an 18-year-old man Tuesday after he ran from his vehicle toward the west side of the Capitol Building armed with a shotgun.

Capital Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the man, identified as Carter Camacho of Smyrna, Georgia, was arrested after he parked a Mercedes SUV near the Capitol, got out and ran "several hundred yards" toward the building with a shotgun before officers intercepted him and ordered him to put down the firearm and get on the ground.

Speaking at a press conference following the arrest, Sullivan said Camacho was wearing a tactical vest and gloves and had a Kevlar helmet and gas mask in the vehicle. The shotgun was loaded and he had additional rounds on him, the chief said.

Sullivan said the motive was under investigation, including whether members of Congress were the target. Congress is not in session.

Sullivan said the department has video footage, but he asked the public for any footage they might have of the incident.

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"Who knows what would have happened if we wouldn't have officers standing here?" the chief said, adding that the department had run active shooter drills in almost the identical spot in recent months.

Sullivan said Camacho was not known to authorities and described him as not being from the area. The chief said the vehicle was not registered to the suspect, who has multiple addresses. He is being held for unlawful activities and carrying a rifle without a license, an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition, the Capitol Police said in a press release.

There have been incidents at the Capitol in recent years,including a Capitol Police arrest in 2023where an Atlanta man armed with a rifle was spotted in a park near the Senate.

Tuesday's arrest comes one week before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address before Congress. Sullivan said the incident does not change the agency's plans. "We take the State of the Union very, very seriously," he said.

Crime in Washington is down considerably so far in 2026 from 2025, a year when there was a huge drop-off from the previous year.Trump declaredan emergency in the city last August to battle crime, leading to the deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard members as well as thousands of federal law enforcement officers and agents.

The officers and agents are still throughout the city. Last week, a Washington man was killed in an encounter with U.S. Marshals Service members. Authorities said the marshals were responding to a call about a person threatening to kidnap and hurt someone while holding a gun. Washington activists have asked for more transparency in that incident, which is under investigation by the city's Metropolitan Police.

The franchise tag window is here, and there are several big names to keep an eye this offseason.

While there are plenty of players whocouldpick up the tag over the next two weeks, it's unclear how many actuallywillget the franchise tag. Last offseason, only two players — Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith — were tagged. The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly already planning to use the tool, so we're halfway to reaching last year's mark.

Here's everything you need to know, and who to watch out for, during the franchise tag window.

What dates is the franchise tag window open?

The franchise tag window opens on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and runs until 4 p.m. ET on March 3.

What are the franchise tag rules?

During this two-week window, teams are allowed to tag one player who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. That would then keep that player with the team for the 2026 season. The sides can still negotiate a long-term deal up until July 15. If that deadline passes without a new deal, a tagged player will play on a one-year contract under the tag's price determined by position.

Franchise tag salaries by position for 2026

The projected franchise tag costs for each position in 2026,per Spotrac.

OffenseQB:$47.242 millionRB:$14.186 millionWR:$28.037 millionTE:$16.007 millionOL:$27.764 million

DefenseDE:$26.710 millionDT:$27.424 millionLB:$27.559 millionCB:$20.783 millionS:$20.758 million

Special TeamsK/P:$6.846 million

Top franchise tag candidates for 2026

George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys

This is an easy one, and a move the Cowboys have been planning to do for quite some time.

Pickens is coming off the best season of his career in 2025, his first with the Cowboys after being traded there from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pickens had 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns on 93 catches last season alongside star CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys will have the second-most expensive wide receiver duo in the league next season when the deal is done. TheCowboys have made it clear they want Pickens on a long-term contract, too.

While negotiations on that deal could take some time, the Cowboys aren't going to risk losing Pickens to free agency this offseason.

Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

The Jets may want to spend their money elsewhere this offseason amid yet another rebuild, but Hall would be a great franchise tag option for them. That is, if they want to keep him.

Hall racked up a career-high 1,065 rushing yards with five total touchdowns last season, his fourth in the league. The former Iowa State star was easily the most consistent part of New York's offense amid a 3-14 campaign, and he may be the top running back in thefree agent market this offseason. There will undoubtedly be interest for him, and Hall would get paid if he left.

But Hall, remember, was a big name to watch at the trade deadline. So who knows if the team even wants to utilize this option.

Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons

Pitts looked significantly better last season, much more like the dominant tight end he was during his rookie campaign. He had 928 yards and a career-high five touchdowns on 88 catches, and was a very reliable piece for the Falcons' offense that lost both quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and wide receiver Drake London due to injuries.

But Pitts has been underwhelming for much of his career. Outside of his first and most recent season, Pitts has largely failed to live up to the expectations that came with being the No. 4 overall draft pick.

If the Falcons' new leadership still isn't sure about committing to Pitts, tagging him for one final season might be a good move. The Falcons can then revisit his long-term future with the organization this fall.

Odafe Oweh, LB, Los Angeles Chargers

Oweh looked like a different player once he landed with the Chargers ahead of the trade deadline. Oweh had 7.5 sacks and 28 total tackles in just 12 games, and he had three total sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in L.A.'s playoff loss in New England. He seemed to be a very good fit for a Chargers defense that struggled frequently last fall.

The Chargers have a lot of money to spend this offseason, too, so securing Oweh could be a very easy move if the two sides can't agree to a long-term deal. But letting Oweh walk after his revival of sorts feels like something the Chargers need to avoid.

Daniel Jones, QB, Indianapolis Colts

This may not even be necessary, but it's something to look out for. Both the Colts and Jones have made it clear that they want to reunite next season after Jones' career-best start with the franchise last fall. He's currently recovering from a torn Achilles he went down with in December, but said he expects to be ready for training camp.

If the Colts use the tag on Jones — they've used it only once in the past decade — expect it to be a short-term option before a real extension is reached.

Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks rarely use the franchise tag, and it doesn't seem like that's going to change, even if they don't want to let Walker go this offseason. On Tuesday, ESPNreported the Seahawks won't use their franchise tagon Walker.

Walker racked up 1,027 yards and five touchdowns on 221 carries last season while leading the Seahawks to their Super Bowl title. He was the game's MVP, with 135 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards in the Seahawks' 29-13 win over the Patriots. Thatmade him the first running back to win the award in decades.

Walker will be a free agent this offseason if the Seahawks don't reach a long-term deal with him. And the team is very likely going to want him back this fall, especially since fellow running back Zach Charbonnet is recovering from an ACL injury. Yet considering Walker's injury history — he made it in only 11 games during the 2024 campaign, and last season was his first full season in the league — securing Walker on the tag would be an easy short-term solution for the Seahawks as they work to defend their title. Then a long-term deal, or the decision to move on, will be an issue for another day.

Which players have received the franchise tag so far?

Tony Clarkalways chose his words carefully, pausing and stroking his chin and perhaps bending the question more toward his desires before delivering a crisp and often lengthy response.

Over his 13 years serving as executive director of theMajor League BaseballPlayers' Association, the responses became almost boilerplate, prefaced by safe words such as, "But what I can tell you is this," before issuing a verbal essay that could roll on thoughtfully for several minutes.

And in those mid-term years of collective bargaining agreements, he'd typically dust this one off when asked, casually, what was going on:

"Everything looks calm on the surface of the water," he'd say, "but you look underneath and the ducks are paddling very hard."

Those words resonate a bit more now, with Clark set to resign from his post as the head of one of the nation's strongest unions just weeks before long and contentious talks are set to begin on the third CBA he's negotiated.

The timing is wild, for obvious reasons: Labor war is coming. Clark, if nothing else, was always a good soldier. And at 53, he's got the battle scars of more than two decades spent at the MLBPA. Ostensibly, he's entering his prime negotiating years as he squares off for a third time against MLB and its owners, a group that sometimes makes it easier on him to win the PR war.

Yet those frenetic paddles beneath the surface took a bit too much oxygen in his final years.

It was a lot: The MLBPA remains under federal investigation due to its role in a licensing company co-owned with the NFLPA and other sports unions. Theinvestigation widenedin 2025 to include Players Way, a youth baseball charitable arm of the union that has been the subject of whistleblower complaints of waste, nepotism and, ESPN reported, excessive union spending on international and domestic trips for Clark and other union employees.

An insurgent group within the MLBPA's eight-player executive subcommittee launchedsomething of a coup in 2024, aiming to remove Bruce Meyer as the union's lead negotiator. The three players – Jack Flaherty, Ian Happ and Lucas Giolito – were voted off the executive subcommittee that December, seemingly a victory for Clark.

Yet this is not the 10-toes-down stance a union would prefer its leader adopt as it nears what is perhaps the most important negotiation since standing firm on a salary cap in 1994.

While the union has been, relatively, flush with cash thanks to its licensing agreements, it's also not hard to get outflanked by MLB's cabal of attorneys and negotiators. Harder still when facing ambivalence from within and potential legal liability externally.

This is hardly the stuff of Marvin Miller and Donald Fehr.

Those two truly made the MLBPA a powerhouse, Miller guiding it toward free agency and a landscape that altered global sports for the good. Fehr was immovable in his approach, becoming one of the public faces of the 1994 World Series cancellation yet more vindicated in the coming decades as baseball exploded into a $12 billion industry, with player movement almost as large a cottage industry as the games themselves.

Weiner, far more low-key than any other union head, kept the labor peace and perhaps was more respected by friend and foe alike than any executive director. His 2013 death due to an inoperable brain tumor was devastating to the union on both a personal and professional level.

And it was far from ideal conditions for Clark to take the gavel.

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MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida

The 2011-12 CBA struck under Weiner and Clark was also suboptimal from the union's standpoint, as it heralded the arrival of the qualifying offer, which forced acquiring teams to forfeit draft picks when signing free agents. Suddenly, in concert with changes to the amateur draft and introduction of bonus pools, teams treated those picks like treasures.

In the decade-plus since, the qualifying offer has dogged almost every free agent – first the handy but not-elite veteran, all the way to the near cream of the crop: Alex Bregman, Blake Snell and Pete Alonso all had to pass twice through free agency to duck it, while young stars like Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette aimed for opt-out laden deals this winter that will likely send them into free agency again, too.

Suddenly, the union was on its heels a bit and Manfred, now commissioner after years as MLB's lead negotiator, kept on the offensive. In 2016-17, a lockout was narrowly averted, yet the union only nudged the luxury tax threshold from $189 million to $195 million, growing to $210 million over the five years.

Needless to say, that did not match the rate of revenue growth in that period.

Tony Clark's MLBPA legacy

Meanwhile, owners established greater penalties for exceeding the tax, a governor on salaries for upper middle class clubs who might only occasionally bump their payroll into the penalty zone.

And the next two winters were ugly.

A glut of unsigned free agents forced the MLBPA to open alate-winter training campfor unsigned players. Former All-Stars loomed on the market past June, in order to avoid qualifying-offer restrictions.

And those who did sign late saw their performancesuffer significantly.

The union could do nothing about it, except toss around a c-word – collusion - that hadn't been heard for a while. And plot aholy war of their ownfor the next CBA.

Lest the union continue stacking Ls, Clark went and got his own pit bull – Bruce Meyer, a skilled litigator touting past experience with all four major men's professional sports leagues.

Manfred responded with a lockout in December 2021. The union held firm into March, peace prevailed and the players might have clawed back an inch or two here or there.

Years later, at least eight teams are spending enough to exceed the luxury-tax threshold. Service-time suppression has been dealt with, and pre-arbitration superstars rewarded for elite performance.

Yet that deal seemed to come at the expense of the rank-and-file, which seemed to chafe at topline salaries remaining sky-high but veterans of lesser pedigree frozen out. In fairness, that may be an eternal reality with clubs hewing ever closer to "age curves" and other proprietary data.

Nonetheless, it's all peanuts compared to what's coming. It is hard to say Clark left the union in a better place, given the ground ceded and, now, a rudderless ship at a time the seas will grow much rougher.

Indeed, the paddling under the surface just got a lot more intense.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tony Clark's poorly-timed MLBPA exit seals union boss' mixed legacy

LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods isn't ready to start playing competitive golf again just yet after the latest injury setbacks of his career.

But a return to the PGA Tour may actually be only a few months away.

Woods, who is recovering from both a new back injury and an Achilles injury he suffered while training at home, was asked directly on Tuesday ahead of the Genesis Invitational if he was ruling out a return at the Masters in April.

"No," he replied plainly.

cc:@TheMasters👀pic.twitter.com/4QN6P11KCU

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR)February 17, 2026

Woods announced last March that he hadruptured his left Achilles' tendonwhile training at home, which knocked him out for the majority of the PGA Tour season. Then in October, Woods announced that he hadundergone a lumbar disc replacement surgery in his lower back, which marked at least the seventh back procedure of his career.

Woods had already started cutting his playing schedule significantly in recent years, especially after the car crash that nearly resulted in him losing his right leg in 2021. He has said repeatedly that his goal is to play in the four major championships and a select few other events each season.

Woods, though, missed the cut in three of the four majors in 2024. He made the cut at the Masters that season, but he finished 60th. Woods has actually only finished three of his last 13 Tour events dating back to 2020.

The Achilles injury is no longer an issue for him, Woods said on Tuesday from Riviera Country Club. He's able to hit full shots again, too. The issue, he said, is simply his back.

"I can't dunk a basketball anymore, so don't have to worry about that," Woods said with a laugh. "As far as the disc replacement, it's just sore. It takes time ... My body has been through a lot. It's just one of those things where it's each and every day, I keep trying, I keep progressing, I keep working on it, trying to get stronger, trying to get more endurance in this body and trying to get it at a level at which I can play at the highest level again."

[Check out all of Yahoo Sports' golf content here in our golf hub]

Woods is not in the field this week for the signature event on Tour, the final one on the west coast swing, though he is the event's host. He also said he didn't have a direct target to start playing again.

"I'm trying, put it that way," Woods said about how close he is to a return.

Woods has won 82 times on Tour in his career, which has him tied with Sam Snead's all-time record. He's won 15 major championships, too, which trails only Jack Nicklaus' record of 18. His last major win was at Augusta National in 2019.

Despite his one-word comment on Tuesday, Woods playing at Augusta National in a few months is still very much up in the air. He hasn't played on Tour since the British Open in July 2024. And simply saying it's not off the table is far from a commitment to being in the field at the premier golf event on the calendar each year.

Also, based on his recent playing history, no one knows how well he'd actually do at Augusta.

But as a five-time winner, Woods has an invitation to play in the Masters whenever he wants it. If he's physically able, knowing Woods, he's going to make the trip.

Now, the golf world waits.

U.S. Southern Command announced that the military launched strikes on three alleged drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean on Monday, killing 11 people.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations," Southern Command said Tuesday ina post to X.

The strikes are the latest in a series of controversial military operations that have alarmed and frustrated congressional critics of the administration, although lawmakershave opted toallow the strikes to continue without prior congressional approval.

In the latest announcement, U.S. Southern Command alleged the three boats were "operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations." The post referred to those killed as "male narco-terrorists," saying that eight people were killed on two boats in the eastern Pacific and three were killed on a boat in the Caribbean. No U.S. troops were harmed, the post said.

The post also said the strikes were conducted at the direction of Marine Corps Gen. Francis Donovan, who serves as the commander of U.S. Southern Command.

The military has not provided evidence that the boats or people onboard were involved in drug trafficking or proof of the number killed. NBC News has not independently verified the military's claims.

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The U.S. has launched more than 40 strikes that have killed more than 130 people,according to official estimates provided by the Defense Department.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth touted the strikes in a poston X, writing, "Turns out President's Day — under President Trump — is not a good day to run drugs."

The Trump administration has claimed the strikes are needed to stop the trafficking of drugs that are killing Americans, raising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela — a major drug transit hub, the U.S. alleges.

Critics of the strikes have painted the administration's actions as lawless and irresponsible, criticism that reached a crescendo after reports that the militarystruck one of the boats twice, ultimately killing two survivors.

In January, the U.S. launched a direct military attack on Venezuela, extraditingPresident Nicolás Maduroand his wife to face narcoterrorism and other charges in the U.S. The Maduros have pleadednot guilty to the charges.

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez has maintained that Maduro is stillthe legitimate leaderof Venezuela. President Donald Trumptold reporters on Mondaythat he believes Rodríguez "probably has to say that" for political reasons., adding that he thinks she is "doing a very good job."