By MATTHEW LEE and JUSTIN SPIKE

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in the Hungarian capital on Monday for meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government during which they plan to sign a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement heralded by President Donald Trump.

Trump has been outspoken in his support for the nationalist Orbán in the Hungarian leader’s bid for reelection in two months. Orbán and his Fidesz party are facing their most serious challenge in the April 12 vote since he retook power in 2010.

The stop in Hungary’s capital follows Rubio’s visit to Slovakia on Sunday, after he previously attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Led by euroskeptic populists who oppose support for Ukraine and vocally back Trump, Slovakia and Hungary represent friendly territory for Rubio as he pushes to shore up energy agreements with both Central European countries.

Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most reliable advocate in the European Union, Orbán has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine while currying favor with Trump and his MAGA — short for the 2016 Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” — movement.

Many in MAGA and the broader conservative world view Hungary as a shining example of successful conservative nationalism, despite the erosion of its democratic institutions and its status as one of the EU’s poorest countries.

In a post on his Truth Social site earlier this month, Trump endorsed Orbán for the coming elections and called him a “truly strong and powerful Leader” and “a true friend, fighter, and WINNER.”

Trump has praised Orbán’s firm opposition to immigration, exemplified by a fence his government erected on Hungary’s southern border in 2015 as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Syria and other countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Other U.S. conservatives admire Orbán’s hostility to LGBTQ+ rights. His government last year banned the popular Budapest Pride celebration and allowed facial recognition technology to be used to identify anyone participating despite the ban. It has also effectively banned same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage, and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents.

Orbán has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite efforts by the EU to wean off such supplies, and received an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian energy after a November meeting in the White House with Trump.

Apparently trusting that his political and personal affinity with the U.S. leader could pay even greater dividends, Orbán and his government have sought to woo Trump to Hungary before the pivotal April 12 elections — hoping such a high-profile visit and endorsement would push Orbán, who is trailing in most polls, over the finish line.

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Budapest has hosted several annual iterations of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, and another was hastily rescheduled this year to fall in March, just before Hungary’s elections.

Details of the civilian nuclear deal were not known ahead of Monday’s signing in Budapest.

During his White House visit in November, Orbán had agreed to U.S.-Hungary cooperation in the civil nuclear industry, including the purchase of compact nuclear reactors — known as small modular reactors or SMRs — and spent fuel storage.

Hungary signaled it was ready to support construction of up to 10 SMRs with a potential value of up to $20 billion. Orbán also said Hungary would enter a nuclear fuel deal with U.S.-based Westinghouse to supply nuclear fuel for Hungary’s Russian-built Paks I nuclear plant.

Today is Monday, Feb. 16, the 47th day of 2026. There are 318 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 16, 1923, the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen’s recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt by English archaeologist Howard Carter.

Also on this date:

In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee ended with the surrender of some 12,000 Confederate soldiers; Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s victory earned him the moniker “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”

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In 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn in as premier of Cuba, six weeks after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown and fled the country into exile. Castro’s rise to power marked the start of Cuba’s transformation into a communist nation.

In 1960, the nuclear submarine USS Triton departed New London, Connecticut, on the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe by a vessel.

In 1996, 11 people were killed in a fiery collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a Maryland commuter train in Silver Spring, Maryland.

In 2018, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians and three Russian companies on charges of staging an elaborate plot to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election via a social media trolling campaign, aimed in part at helping Donald Trump win the presidency.

In 2024, Russia’s prison agency announced that Alexei Navalny, activist and Russian opposition leader, had died in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism; Navalny’s death brought outrage and criticism from world leaders toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Today’s birthdays:

Businessman Carl Icahn is 90.
Author Eckhart Tolle is 78.
Actor William Katt is 75.
Actor LeVar Burton is 69.
Actor-rapper Ice-T is 68.
Tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe is 67.
Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis is 54.
Olympic track and field gold medalist Cathy Freeman is 53.
Actor Mahershala Ali is 52.
Rapper Lupe Fiasco is 44.
Democratic Sen. John Ossoff of Georgia is 39.
Actor Elizabeth Olsen is 37.
Singer-actor The Weeknd is 36.
Actor Chloe East is 25.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Anthony Edwards won the Most Valuable Player award while leading his “Stars” team past their fellow Americans on the “Stripes” team 47-21 to win the final of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.

The Minnesota Timberwolves star claimed his first All-Star MVP award with a tying 3-pointer in the first round-robin game followed by eight points in the final, which was the only chapter without a dramatic late finish in this mini-tournament comprising the main event of All-Star weekend at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome.

The NBA’s fourth format in four years matched two teams of American All-Stars against a team representing the World, hoping to stoke nationalistic passion from players and fans during an Olympic year.

USA Stars guard Anthony Edwards lifts the MVP trophy after the NBA All-Star basketball game Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The slightly older Stripes had beaten the slightly younger Stars on De’Aaron Fox’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second 12-minute, round-robin game. But Edwards led the Stars to victory in the rematch with the Stripes, who appeared to run out of gas while playing in their third straight mini-game.

“We chose to compete today, and we came out on top,” Edwards said. “I ain’t going to lie, Wemby set the tone. He came out and played hard, and we had to follow that.”

Indeed, Victor Wembanyama effectively challenged his fellow All-Stars to take this game seriously, and they largely appeared to do it. Despite going 0-2, Wembanyama led the World team in scoring in both games with 14 points in the opener and 19 in the third game.

Along with the late-game theatrics, the event generally appeared to be played at a higher level of competitiveness than most All-Star Games in recent years, suggesting the league might have finally cracked the code on the long-standing question of how to make this midseason showcase more entertaining.

“It was a pretty good display of basketball,” Wembanyama said. “Better than last year, in my opinion. It was fun. … I think being honest with ourselves is good. It’s a game we love, it’s a game I personally cherish, so being competitive is the least I can do.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver thanked the All-Stars for playing hard when he presented the championship trophy to the Stars.

Kawhi Leonard thrilled his home crowd with a 31-point barrage for the Stripes in the final round-robin game, but he managed just one point in the final. Tyrese Maxey led the Stars with nine points in the clincher.

Scottie Barnes won the opening 12-minute game for the Stars with a game-ending 3-pointer in overtime, beating the World 37-36 after Edwards forced OT.

After Fox’s dagger in the second game, Leonard utterly dominated the third game before hitting a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in the Stripes’ 48-45 victory.

The World team was loaded with talent, but NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic both sat out its second game, likely to preserve the health of two superstars who have struggled with injury in the past month.

John Tesh took the court with his band before the game for a live rendition of “Roundball Rock,” the iconic 1990s theme song of “NBA on NBC,” to mark the league’s return to the network this season. That network partnership is also the reason the All-Star Game was an afternoon affair on the West Coast, because NBC airs the Winter Olympics at night.

The Intuit Dome crowd included former President Barack Obama, who received a standing ovation pregame.

First game

Edwards scored 13 points and forced overtime on a 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds left in regulation to begin the mini-tourney.

Edwards hit a 14-footer to begin the first-to-five-points overtime period. Wembanyama made a 3-pointer, but Raptors star Barnes ended it by draining his only shot of the game.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 10 points, but Norman Powell — a born-and-raised Californian who represents Jamaica internationally — missed a potential winning shot for the World at the regulation buzzer.

NBA scoring leader Doncic played the first 5:05 for the World in the opening game before sitting down. The Lakers superstar hadn’t played since Feb. 5 due to a hamstring strain, but he was determined to play after receiving his sixth All-Star nod.

Second game

Donovan Mitchell took a pass under the net from LeBron James and kicked it out to Fox on the perimeter for the winner.

Jaylen Brown led the Stripes with 11 points, and James scored eight to begin his record 21st All-Star appearance.

Edwards and Cade Cunningham scored 11 points apiece for the Stars.

“Old heads 1-0,” James said with a laugh. “We’ve got a lot of guys that have played a lot of basketball, so no matter what’s going on, we know how to keep our composure and execute.”

A few hours beforehand, the top scorer in NBA history said the game’s presence in the Los Angeles area meant “nothing, because this is not our building. This is a road game.”

Indeed, the Clippers fans in Intuit Dome booed James and Doncic whenever they touched the ball in the first two games.

Third game

Leonard thrilled his home crowd with a dynamic effort, going 11 of 13 and 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. The seven-time All-Star made his first seven shots with five 3-pointers amid raucous cheers from the extra-steep supporters’ section called The Wall behind one basket at this futuristic 18-month-old arena.

He was unstoppable despite a reasonable defensive effort from the World team led by Wembanyama, who scored 19 points before missing a tying 3-pointer attempt at the buzzer.

James put the Stripes ahead with 31 seconds left on a putback dunk, but Wembanyama hit two free throws to tie it before Leonard called game.

Jokic and Doncic didn’t play, leaving the World with just seven players.

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Sunday’s border battle at Wisconsin began in an inauspicious manner for the Minnesota women’s basketball team. However, once the Gophers came around, the Badgers had no hope of keeping pace with their visitors to the west.

Minnesota guard Mara Braun drives on Wisconsin guard Laci Steele during the Gophers’ 83-60 victory Sunday at Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Braun scored a game-high 20 points. (Meghan Bielich/Gophers Athletics)

Minnesota started slow and trailed the host Badgers 18-8 late in the first quarter. Yet after a 12-2 run gave the Gophers their first lead of the game at 21-20, they never looked back en route to an 83-60 victory at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.

Coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s players put together a number of runs throughout the game to dominate the final three quarters after their early deficit to mark down the team’s eighth consecutive victory.

Minnesota outscored Wisconsin 28-13 in a difference-making second quarter to lead 40-31 at the break after Grace Grocholski’s buzzer-beating three. Down 59-43 with under three minutes to play in the third quarter, the Badgers kept hope alive with a 7-0 run to bring the Gophers’ lead to single digits.

However, a Mara Braun three-pointer with 33 seconds left in the quarter inaugurated a stretch where Minnesota outscored its hosts 14-3 to take a 23-point advantage after a pair of Amaya Battle free throws with just under five minutes to play. The lead hovered around that level for the remainder of the contest before the final horn heralded the Gophers’ 20th victory of the season.

Braun led all scorers with 20 points, with Battle logging 17 points. Sophie Hart contributed 13 points with a team-high six rebounds, while Tori McKinney chipped in 12 points and tied for the game-high with four assists.

With the win, Minnesota (20-6 overall, 11-4 Big Ten) kept the heat on No. 15 Iowa (19-5, 10-3) in the conference standings. The Gophers remain just percentage points behind the Hawkeyes for fourth place, with Iowa scheduled to play at Nebraska (16-9, 5-9) on Monday.

With No. 8 Ohio State (22-4, 11-3) suffering an upset win at home to No. 20 Maryland (21-6, 9-6), Minnesota also pulled ever closer to the Buckeyes for third place in the circuit. Minnesota is currently the only team among the top seven of the Big Ten not to be nationally ranked, though that situation may change when Monday’s latest Associated Press poll is released — the Gophers fell two votes shy in last week’s Top 25 polling.

Coincidentally, the Gophers host Ohio State next, with the Buckeyes paying Williams Arena a visit for a 7 p.m. tip-off Wednesday night. The game will be televised on BTN+.

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