Jaelin Kauf, Liz Lemley win silver, bronze in dual moguls Olympics debut

LIVIGNO, Italy — The most exciting addition to the2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympicsprogram, dual moguls, has two American medalists.

Jaelin Kauf reached the podium again, this time taking silver. It's the third Olympic medal (all silver) of her career, following asilver in the individual competitionthese Olympics and in 2022 at the Beijing Games.

Fellow American Liz Lemley won the bronze medal after narrowly edging France's Perrine Laffont in the "small final." It's Lemley's second medal of these Games after she won gold in individual moguls.

"Seeing I stacked up pretty good against the competition today," Kauf said about competing in dual moguls, "I'm really excited."

The United States made up half of the quarterfinalists with Tess Johnson and Olivia Giaccio joining Kauf and Lemley.

Dual moguls, making its Olympic debut, pits two competitors against each other at the same time. The one with the highest score moves on to the next round, with a champion, second and third place eventually being crowned.

Yuma Kagiyama of Team Japan competes in Men's Single Skating - Short Program on day one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 7, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Kagiyama pulled off a stunning routine that received 108.67 points, placing first in the event.

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See emotional moments of triumph and defeat at 2026 Winter Olympics

Yuma Kagiyama of Team Japan competes in Men's Single Skating - Short Program on day one of the Milano Cortina2026 Winter Olympicsat Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 7, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Kagiyama pulled off a stunning routine that received 108.67 points, placing first in the event.

Dual moguls is inherently more dangerous than individual moguls because of the head-to-head aspect, Kauf said, although there have been only a handful of incidents in which athletes fly out of control into the other person's course.

"Those center lines are pretty close together … anything can happen," Kauf said. "Usually nothing too serious."

Moguls races are judged by three categories – turns, jumps and speed – and whoever crosses the finish line first is not necessarily the winner.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dual moguls' Olympic debut leads to medals for Jaelin Kauf, Liz Lemley

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 14, 2026

Jaelin Kauf, Liz Lemley win silver, bronze in dual moguls Olympics debut

LIVIGNO, Italy — The most exciting addition to the2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympicsprogram, dual moguls, has two Americ...

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After 'Olympic curse' hits Ilia Malinin in his free skate, the 'Quad god' sets his sights on future

MILAN (AP) — Ilia Malinin need only to have looked into the stands on Friday night, where Nathan Chen watched as the American figure skating sensation known as the "Quad god"fell apart in his Olympic free skate, for inspiration about what might come next.

Milan Cortina Olympics Figure Skating

The overwhelming favorite to win gold, Malinin fell twice amid a calamitous program that he seemingly had perfected over the past year, sending him tumbling from first place all the way off the podium and allowing Mikhail Shaidorov to claim gold instead.

It bore an eerie resemblance to the scene that unfolded at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Chen, who like Malinin had been groomed by Hall of Fame coach Rafael Arutyunyan, was considered the favorite along with Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu to stand atop the podium in South Korea. Instead, Chen fell once during his short program and struggled through the rest of it, leaving him so far behind that not even his winning free skate could earn him a medal.

One month later, he won his first world title. Four years later,Chen won Olympic gold in Beijing.

"I can't go back and change it, even though I would love to," Malinin said, candidly. "You have to take what happened or what you've learned from this and really just change or decide what you want to do for the future, and how to approach things."

What made the 21-year-old Malinin's fall so stunning was not just that he has been the dominant skater of his generation, building an unbeaten streak stretching back more than two years and claiming the past two world championships with relative ease.

It's that everything was setting up perfectly for him.

One by one, the skaters before him Friday night had problems of their own, falling on ice shared by speedskating that some lamented was not the best of surfaces. Italy's Daniel Grassl crashed out of podium contention, as did Adam Siao Him Fa of France.

Shaidorov was the only one who managed a memorable performance, and he had started the night in sixth place.

So Malinin, whosefree skate clinched team goldfor the Americans on Sunday, headed out one more time with a big buffer between him and the competition. He need only have put together a dialed-back version of the hardest planned program of anyone — as he did at the U.S. championships last month — to win his second gold medal ofthe Milan Cortina Games.

"That first quad and several of the quads, they felt really ideal," Malinin said. "I was prepared well enough."

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Yet the problems began after he landed a quad lutz. Malinin doubled up a planned quad loop, fell on another quad lutz — preventing him from doing the second half of a combination sequence — and made a mess of his final jumping pass. What was supposed to be a high-scoring quad salchow-triple axel became only a pedestrian double salchow, and Malinin even fell on that.

"It's really difficult when everyone assumes that he will get gold. There's this pressure," said Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, the last man to have beaten Malinin way back in 2023, and the men's silver medalist for the second consecutive Winter Games.

"His performance, if I may comment, was a little bit unusual. But it really proves that this is the Olympics. Things can happen."

Malinin acknowledged the pressure had gotten to him during a relatively poor short program in the team event. And he still seemed to be a little off in the free skate the following night, even though it was enough to give himat least one gold medal from Milan.

"We saw that even he is human," Grassl said, "and these things can happen to anyone."

Malinin was nothing if not noble in defeat.

He gave Shaidorov a hug as he walked out of the arena, whispering in his ear, "You deserve it." Then he answered the same question, over and over, for dozens of TV crews and reporters from all over the world: What just happened?

"It's almost like I wasn't aware of where I was in the program," Malinin said. "Usually I have more time and more feeling of how it is, but this time, it all went by so fast, and I really didn't have time to make those changes or make that process different."

"I was really confident, just feeling really good about it," he said, "and then it's like it's right there, and it just left your hands."

The end of one disastrous free skate will hardly be the end for Malinin, though. He's still the reigning world champion, the best figure skater of his generation, and again the overwhelming favorite to win Olympic gold four years from now in France.

"The pressure of the Olympics really gets you. People say there's an Olympic curse, that the Olympic gold medal favorite is always going to skate bad at the Olympics," he said. "It's really not easy, but I'm still proud of being able to get to the finish."

AP Winter Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 14, 2026

After 'Olympic curse' hits Ilia Malinin in his free skate, the 'Quad god' sets his sights on future

MILAN (AP) — Ilia Malinin need only to have looked into the stands on Friday night, where Nathan Chen watched as the Amer...

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The Wildest, Most Shocking Controversies Happening at the 2026 Winter Olympics, So Far

Tim Clayton/Getty ; Odd ANDERSEN / AFP via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off on Feb. 6

• Since then, multiple controversies have dominated news coverage of the global sporting event

• Some athletes have competed amid scrutiny, while others have been disqualified for violating the IOC's no-politics policy

Drama has dominated the2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympicsalmost as much as the athletic feats.

More than 3,500 athletes from 93 nations began competing for gold on Feb. 6. While the Games have delivered standout performances — including U.S. speedskaterJordan Stolz'srecord-breaking winin the men's 1,000-meter event — a series of high-profile incidents shifted attention beyond the competition.

A month before the global event even began, German newspaperBildreported that some of the top male ski jumpers were injecting their crotches with hyaluronic acid to improve aerodynamics, perESPN. While the rumor turned out to be untrue, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was prepared to investigate further.

That controversy was soon overshadowed when Norwegian biathleteSturla Holm Lægreidconfessed tocheating on his ex-girlfriendduring a live, televised interview.

From "crotch filler" and live cheating admissions to past allegations and disqualifications, here are all the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics controversies, so far.

Sturla Holm Lægreid admitted to an affair after winning a bronze medal

Grega Valancic/VOIGT/Getty

After Lægreid took home the bronze medal for the men's 20km biathlon on Feb. 10, he confessed to cheating on his ex-girlfriend in a live, televised interview withNRK. He called the affair "the biggest mistake of my life," per a translation provided byE! News, and that he came out about his infidelity a week prior.

"There is someone I wanted to share this with who might not be watching today," Lægreid said in the emotional post-victory interview. "I try to be a good role model, and I did something stupid. You have to admit when you do something you can't stand for and hurt someone you love so much."

A day after his confession, his ex-girlfriend, who remained anonymous, told Norwegian outletVGthat she was hurt to be "put in this position" and that the athlete's affair was "hard to forgive, even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world."

Lægreid later told NPK that he "deeply" regretted sharing his story and putting his ex in the spotlight, per theAssociated Press.

A Finnish ski jump coach was sent home for alcohol use

Javier SORIANO / AFP via Getty

On Feb. 12, Finland's ski jumping coach, Igor Medved, was forced to leave the Games after violating team conduct rules regarding alcohol. Janne Hanninen, head of the Finnish team, said in a statement toESPNthat "the matter concerns issues related to alcohol use."

"I made a mistake and I am very sorry," the coach said in a statement. "I want to apologize to the entire Finnish team, the athletes and also the fans."

A skeleton competitor was disqualified for wearing a helmet honoring Ukrainian war victims

Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty

Ukrainian skeleton racerVladyslav Heraskevychwas banned from competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics after he refused to comply with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s policy that prohibits political statements on the competition field. The disqualification was regarding his helmet, which depicted Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We have members of Olympic family, part of Olympic movement, and they don't even want to honor them," he told reporters in February 2026.

The IOC offered to let the racer wear a black armband honoring the victims instead, but he said he wouldwear the helmet anywayin defiance of the IOC. However, he never had a chance to as Heraskevych's disqualification was announced on Feb. 12, before he could compete.

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Julia Simon's Olympic win resurfaced a past credit card fraud conviction

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French biathleteJulia Simonstook home her second gold medal at the 2026 Winter Games — marking a massive return from when she was briefly banned from the sport in October 2025.

According toThe Guardian,the athlete was convicted of theft and credit card fraud after making over $2,000 in purchases using her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a French Skiing Federation staff member's bank cards. She claimed during a hearing that she didn't remember the incident.

In addition to a three-month suspended prison sentence and a $17,820 fine, Simons was also banned from her sport for six months. Five of those months were later suspended, perESPN, allowing her to compete in the 2026 Games.

The French ice dancers faced scrutiny over allegations involving former partners

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Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron's journey towinning the gold medalin ice dancing was nearly overshadowed bycontroversyregarding their former partners. In 2024, Fournier Beaudry's partner and boyfriend, Nikolaj Sorensen, was suspended from the sport over allegations of sexual assault, which he denied, perReuters.

The claims ended his career and led her to start skating with Olympic gold medalist Cizeron in 2025. However, his former partner,Gabriella Papadakis, accused him of being "controlling" and "demanding" in her 2026 memoir,So as Not to Disappear. The skater denied the claims in a statement toReuters.

Sorensen's initial six-year suspension by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada was eventually overturned, and his alleged victim later criticized Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron for how they handled the accusation.

"The comments of the reigning Olympic champion and a team in contention for the upcoming Olympic title carry weight," the victim, who remained anonymous, said in a statement sent to sports reporter Christine Brennan, shared onXin February 2026. "Using their voices to publicly undermine a survivor's truths further enforces the culture of silence in figure skating."

Fournier Beaudry did not address the comments when asked by Brennan for her response, saying that she and Cizeron "have no thoughts" and are "focused on the Olympics," per a post the reporter shared onX.

Male ski jumpers were wrongly accused of using "crotch filler" to increase their distance in the air

Michel Cottin/Agence Zoom/Getty

In January 2026,Bildreported on rumors that male Olympic ski jumpers were injecting hyaluronic acid into their crotches to warrant a bigger ski suit. A larger suit would allegedly improve their aerodynamics, ESPN reported.

Following the accusations, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) told PEOPLE that while the claims appeared to be untrue, they were ready to investigate if needed.

Bruno Sassi, communications director for the FIS, said that the "wild rumor" began "a few weeks ago from pure hearsay." He added that there's "been no indication, let alone evidence, that any competitor has ever made use of a hyaluronic acid injection to attempt to gain a competitive advantage."

However, this isn't the first time allegations ofsuit manipulationhave surfaced in the sport. That same month, theAssociated Pressreported that three officials and two athletes — including Olympic gold medalists Johann André Forfang and Marius Lindvik, who claimed to not be aware of the changes — from Norway were suspended for tearing apart and restitching the crotch area of their suits to improve distance.

However, Forfang and Lindvik's suspensions will begin in August, allowing them to compete in the Winter Olympics.

Read the original article onPeople

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 14, 2026

The Wildest, Most Shocking Controversies Happening at the 2026 Winter Olympics, So Far

Tim Clayton/Getty ; Odd ANDERSEN / AFP via Getty NEED TO KNOW The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics kicked o...

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Immigration enforcement takes center stage at state level

State lawmakers across the country are ramping up efforts to either support or block theTrump administration's mass-deportation efforts,wading deeper into a policy arena that's long been the province of the federal government.

Whileimmigration enforcementis a federal power, states have many opportunities to either smooth the way or throw up roadblocks, particularly when it comes to being a "sanctuary" jurisdiction.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum said theattention focused on immigrationby PresidentDonald Trumpand being executed byImmigration and Customs Enforcement officershas created a significant appetite for state-level action.

Behind the scenes of an ICE immigration arrest

In Republican-led states, White House officials have been working with legislative leaders to target sanctuary jurisdictions where local police won't cooperate with immigration agents.

They are also pushing state lawmakers to expand 287(g) programs allowing local police to take on limited immigration-enforcement authority, and requiring local sheriffs to hold onto suspected unauthorized immigrants until immigration enforcers can collect them from jail.

Republican states like Florida and Texas have long had expansive 287(g) programs, and the two states have for years collaborated with the federal government on immigration, in part due to their proximity to Mexico and the Gulf.

But now other non-border states are increasingly wading in, many of them led by Democrats, pushing plans to bar ICE agents from wearing anonymizing face masks, allow residents to sue agents in state court over civil rights violations, and further limit cooperation by local police and sheriffs.

Here are some of the proposals being considered as state legislatures begin their sessions.

Republican states collaborating with the White House

In Tennessee, Republican leaders have worked with the White House to craft a package of bills aimed at cutting off any state spending on unauthorized residents, in part by creating immigration checks for public school children. Under federal law, all children in the United States are entitled to a free public education, and migrant-rights groups say efforts to track citizenship might scare immigrant children into staying home.

The plans would also permit state and local police to detain truckers who can't immediately prove their lawful status, and stop offering drivers' license tests in any language but English.

Tennessee House leaders said they have consulted with Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, on how to make their proposals most effective.

"It's about making sure that those who are here legally, lawfully, have the access to the things they need to have access to and not be detrimental by the illegals coming in and doing that," House Speaker Cameron Sexton said.

For instance, the United States has a limited supply of public housing, Sexton said, and it should be reserved for people who are here legally.

"You have people on the streets right now who are homeless who are here legally and lawfully," he said. "Can we answer how many illegals are in public housing in our state? Should we know that number? Because that's housing that could be for them, that they could have an opportunity."

In Iowa, legislators are considering Republican-backed bills to require greater cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers, and require state driver's licenses to display the holder's citizenship status.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has also floated a plan to make it harder for judges in criminal cases to release unauthorized immigrants on bond, potentially keeping them jailed no matter how serious the criminal charges.

Democratic states are pushing back against more aggressive immigration enforcement

In California, Democrats have proposed laws barring immigration agents from using state property, making it easier for people to sue federal immigration officers, and even blocking car rental companies from renting vehicles to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

In Oregon, Democratic lawmakers are considering plans to withhold state grants or contracts with private companies assisting ICE, and clarifying that the state will withhold tax payments to the federal government if the White House blocks federal funding to the state over its refusal to comply with Trump's demands.

In Colorado, Democrats who control the statehouse are considering a raft of bills to restrict operations by ICE officers, including further limiting information-sharing by state and local governments, and barring enforcement at sensitive locations such as hospitals.

"What I'm hearing is people want us to do everything we can to stand strong against this agency and this administration," said first-generation Iranian-American state Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Colorado Democrat.

Zokaie is drafting legislation that would also ban ICE agents from ever becoming local or state police officers.

She said she's been consulting with fellow legislative Democrats in other states to prepare model legislation, in much the same way the White House has been working with Republicans.

In any other year, such sweeping changes wouldn't have a chance of passing the state legislature, she said, but people are upset by what they see as over-reach by Trump's immigration enforcers.

"The state has immense power to take a stand against the federal government and to protect our constituents from the federal government," Zokaie said. "And it is because we have that power that Trump threatens to retaliate against us."

Contributing: Vivian Jones, USA TODAY Network

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:States take different approaches to immigration enforcement

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 14, 2026

Immigration enforcement takes center stage at state level

State lawmakers across the country are ramping up efforts to either support or block theTrump administration's mass-d...

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When will the Polar Vortex return? Here's your late-winter forecast.

Hello, world? Can I come out of hibernation yet?

Folks in the central and eastern United States who've endured weeks of bitter cold and snow are wondering: Is winter over? Willthe polar vortexcome back? Are we safe from the worst of winter's wrath?

Experts have some good news: "The most intense cold of the winter is largely behind the eastern and central states," AccuWeather lead long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok said in anonline forecast.

Forecasters say there's no sign of any intrusions of Arctic air across the central or eastern U.S. for the next couple of weeks, fortunately. In fact, no additional outbreaks of severe to extreme cold are expected for the rest of the winter, according to AccuWeather long-range experts.

Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue also has good news: "Heading into the final week of February — the main polar vortex cold pool reservoir remains largely locked up over Canada north of the Arctic Circle," Maue said in an e-mail to USA TODAY. "It really looks like we're turning the corner on winter − into the home stretch,"he added on Xon Feb. 11.

Snow covers the ground in northwest Oklahoma City, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. These photos captured the winter storm's aftermath from the sky.

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Mesmerizing drone photos taken after winter storm show power of nature

Snow covers the ground in northwest Oklahoma City, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. These photos captured thewinter storm's aftermathfrom the sky.

What about March?

Some experts urge caution in throwing dirt on the winter yet.

Polar vortex expert Judah Cohen of MITsaid in his blog this week, "the upcoming predicted pattern flip of cold Western US and mild Eastern US is not permanent in my opinion. I expect in late February or early March the pattern to resort to the dominant pattern of the winter − mild Western US and cold Eastern US, even if briefly." He said this would be consistent with a stretched polar vortex, while it remains weak overall.

Remember a weak or stretched polar vortex is bad news for winter weather haters in the U.S. Folks rooting for spring want a strong polar vortex that's bottled up over the Arctic.

Additionally, though, Cohen said that even if the cold returns in March, "it is important to keep in mind cold in March is very different from cold in January and snows become increasingly elevation dependent."

Pastelok, in an email to USA TODAY, also cautioned that the vortex may stretch again next month, perhaps pushing some colder air from western Canada to the eastern U.S in week two and three of March. But he added "this is very late for a disruption and the impacts again may be minimal."

Winter's impacts aren't quite over

Despite the warm up, it doesn't mean winter is entirely over, Pastelok said. "New risks will arise due to the warmup as colder, stormier conditions shift to the West," he said.

In addition, the persistent cold has caused a significant buildup of ice on streams, rivers and bays across the Northeast and Midwest, AccuWeather said. With any thaw, after an extended period of frigid conditions and buildup of ice, the potential for ice jams and ice-jam flooding will increase on non-tidal portions of the streams and rivers.

"Rising temperatures will melt snow and ice over the next few weeks, which can trigger ice jams and river flooding earlier than usual, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers," Pastelok said.

What about snow?

Although the coldest air for the season is most likely over for the nation, that does not mean the worst is quite over for winter conditions, according to Pastelok. "There can be some bigger snow events that hit the upper Midwest, Great Lakes and interior Northeast for the rest of February into March," he said in an e-mail to USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Winter forecast has hints about Polar Vortex, spring weather

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 14, 2026

When will the Polar Vortex return? Here's your late-winter forecast.

Hello, world? Can I come out of hibernation yet? Folks in the central and eastern United States who've endur...

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