UR MAG

MILAN — TheseWinter Olympicswere the most spread-out in history, with four venues hosting speedskating, hockey and figure skating in the city's outskirts while the rest of the Games' 12 sports were scattered across difficult-to-reach mountain towns hours away.

But those who made the effort to get to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics witnessed a Games remembered for a "King," crashes, cheating scandals, drones, historic medal hauls and triumphs by the host nation.

U.S. earns record 12 gold medals

Those dozen golds marked the most ever won by the U.S. at a single Winter Olympics. First-time gold medalists included bobsledderElana Meyers Taylor,the 41-year-old who won the monobob by four-hundredths of a second;Jordan Stolz,who won gold medals in long-track speedskating's 500 and 1000 meters, and Alex Ferreira, the 31-year-old winner of freeski halfpipe.

U.S. hockey sweeps gold

With a sweep of the hockey gold medals, theU.S. men won an Olympic tournament for the first time since 1980, and the women for the first time since 2018.

Trailing archrival Canada, 1-0, with two minutes left in regulation, captain Hilary Knight, playing her fifth and final Olympics, sent the gold-medal game to overtime. Veteran Megan Keller then scored the golden goal in a stirring comeback to earn the U.S.women their third-ever Olympic gold and first since 2018. The win capped a roller-coaster two days for Knight, who had proposed to speedskater Brittany Bowe one day earlier.

The men's tournament, the first to feature NHL players since 2014, also came down to a Canada-U.S. final that ended with Jack Hughes' golden goal in overtime.

Stunning results for U.S. figure skating

After the U.S. won the team event — made up of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating and ice dance — it appeared the country was on the verge of a potential sweep in the individual performances. It didn't exactly end that way.

Ilia Malinin, the big gold-medal favorite in men's singles, entered the final with a lead but had multiple falls anddropped all the way to eighthfor arguably the biggest upset of the Games. He said thepressure got the best of him.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the favorite in pairs, had stellar performancesbut took silverafter Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France(somewhat controversially) outscored them.

The highlight of the Olympics, however, may have been Alysa Liu. The 20-year-old, who retired from figure skating four years ago,put on a performance for the agesin the women's singles final and claimed gold while winning on her terms.

"That's what I'm f-----g talking about," Liu said as she skated off the ice following her gold-clinching performance.

Norway dominates the medal count

Despite having a population of just 5.6 million, the Nordic nation has long been a power in the Winter Olympics' endurance sports like cross-country skiing and biathlon.

But Norway's dominance grew to historic levels in Italy, where it led the medal count with 41, making it the first country to earn more than 40 medals at a single Winter Olympics. Six of itsgold medals were earned by cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, known as "King Klæbo," who became the first person ever to win that many at a Winter Games and only the fifth athlete to win six-plus golds at any Olympics, joining swimmers Mark Spitz (seven in 1972), Kristin Otto (six in 1988) and Michael Phelps (six each in 2004 and 2008) and gymnast Vitaly Scherbo (six in 1992).

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Lindsey Vonn's comeback ends in a crash

Forced into retirement by injuries in 2019 before mounting a comeback in 2024, the American superstar skier, 41, entered the Olympics enjoying the healthiest season she could remember.

That changed less than a week before the women's downhill began, when she tore a knee ligament in a crash. Determined to compete in a brace despite the injury, Vonn qualified for the downhill final with one of the fastest times in the entire field. But only 13 seconds into her run, she hooked a gate with her right arm andwas sent spiraling, head-over-skis, into a crashthat left a Cortina d'Ampezzo crowd full of her friends and family silent. She has undergone five surgeries, andher father has saidhe does not want her to race again.

Johnson and Shiffrin win skiing gold

In the same downhill race where Vonn crashed, U.S. teammateBreezy Johnsonsliced down the treacherous Tofane course to join Vonn as the only other woman in U.S. history to win Olympic gold in the downhill. In Alpine skiing's team combined event, Johnson and teammate Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth, while Americans Paula Moltzan and Jackie Wiles — less than a year removed from surviving a plane crash — earned bronze.

Johnson would end the Games on a happy note after herboyfriend proposedat the base of the giant slalom competition. Shiffrin, who hadn't earned an Olympic medal since 2018,had a cathartic end to the Games by dominating slalom for gold.

Ukrainian athlete barred from racing

Vladyslav Heraskevych planned to compete in skeleton while wearing a helmet featuring images of Ukrainian athletes who had been killed since Russia's invasion of the country in 2022. But the helmet did not comply with the International Olympic Committee's "athlete expression guidelines," the IOC said, and a jury of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation disqualified Heraskevych from competing. His refusal to wear another helmet stemmed from his belief that there are things"more important than medals," he said.

Trump calls U.S. athlete a 'loser'

Asked how he felt about representing the U.S., freeski athlete Hunter Hess responded that "just because I'm wearing the flag, doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the U.S." That quickly caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who took to social media to call Hess a "loser." The attention sparked by the comment was "challenging" to deal with, Hess later said, but he stood by his comment andeven flashed an "L" sign after finishing a run,a self-aware nod to Trump's comment.

"I love the United States of America," Hess said. "I cannot say that enough. My original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn't take it that way."

Italy enjoys its best ever Winter Olympics

Before these Games, the high-water mark for Italian success at a Winter Olympics came in 1994, when the Azzurri won 20 total medals, including seven golds.

On its home turf this month, the host nation smashed those marks, winning 30 medals, the third most of any country, and 10 golds. Speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida won the 3,000 meters in an Olympic record on her 35th birthday, then celebrated with her 2-year-old son. She added another gold later in the Games. A year after suffering a devastating leg injury, Federica Brignone won gold in giant slalom. And speedskater Arianna Fontana won her 14th career Olympic medal.

Cheating admissions and allegations

Norwegian cross-country skier Sturla Holm Lægreid's emotional admission in a postrace interview that he had cheated on his girlfriend and hoped to win her back quickly made him one of the most talked-about athletes at the Olympics. "I hope that committing social suicide [like this] might show her how much I love her,"he said.By the end of the Games he'd won five medals, but not his ex.

Lægreid wasn't the only athlete caught up in a cheating scandal, however. On the ice, Canada and Sweden got into a heated shouting match after the Swedes accused Canada's Marc Kennedy of an illegal double touch during a curling match.

Kennedy could be heard hurling swears at the Swedish team. When asked why he got so upset, Kennedy said: "He's still accusing us of cheating, and I didn't like it. So I told him where to stick it, because we're the wrong team to do that to."

You'd never seen an Olympics like these

For the first time, an athlete representing South America won a Winter Olympics medal. That was thanks toLucas Pinheiro Braathen, the Oslo-borngiant slalom racer who previously represented Norway, retired from the sport, then returned under the flag of Brazil, where his mother was raised.

Skiers like Pinheiro Braathen were captured throughout the Olympics fromnever-before-seen camera angles by small, agile dronesthat trailed athletes at speeds of up to 75 mph. The immersive views of athletes racing down slopes, sliding courses and speedskating tracks were a hit with viewers.

LONDON (AP) — Anti-discrimination campaigners bemoaned an "appalling weekend" in thePremier Leagueafter four players weretargeted with racial abuseon their social media accounts following games.

Britain Champions League Soccer

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana and Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri shared images of racist messages they were sent privately over Instagram following their teams' match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday that finished 1-1.

Wolverhampton striker Tolu Arokodare showed racially aggravated messages he received on Instagram after a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday, during which he had a penalty saved.

Sunderland said its winger, Romaine Mundle, was also subjected to "vile online racist abuse" after his substitute appearance in a 3-1 home loss to Fulham.

Kick It Out, a British-based anti-discrimination charity, repeated its calls for platforms to do more to address the problem.

"This has been an appalling weekend after four players called out the racist abuse they've received on social media. But the sad fact is, we know it happens regularly," the organization said.

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"The message from them is loud and clear: action must follow. Players cannot be expected to tolerate this behavior, and nor should anyone else."

The Premier League also condemned the abuse of the players.

"There are serious consequences for anybody found guilty of discrimination and we will offer our full support with their investigations," the competition said. "Football is for everyone — there is no room for racism."

The 22-year-old Mundle has since deleted his Instagram account, the Sunderland Echo newspaper reported.

The incidents came days after UEFA began an investigation into claims by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior that he wasracially abusedon the field by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League game in Lisbon.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

MILAN (AP) — With 116 medal events over 16 days spread across northern Italy, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics delivered many unforgettable moments. Here are 10 of the biggest, from heartbreak to triumph.

Milan Cortina Olympics My Favorite Photo

Lindsey Vonn's gut-wrenching crash

U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn's Olympic story was supposed to be one of redemption. She came out of retirement at age 41, battled a torn ACL in her left knee days before competition, and was ready to conquer the downhill. Instead she got hooked on a gate 13 seconds into her run,resulting in a terrifying crash in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

After receiving treatment for about a week in Italy for a complex tibia fracture, Vonn flew back to the U.S. She's hadat least four surgeries.

Her skis did not release during the crash,raising safety issues among the skiing circuit.

Klaebo's historic gold medal sweep

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, heavy is the neck that wears all of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo's gold medals.

The Norwegianwon all six gold medals in the men's cross-country competition, setting a new record for most golds at a single Winter Olympics.

The previous record was set by American speed skater Eric Heiden with five golds in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

Norway dominated the Olympics overall,leading the medal countwith 41. They chalk it up totheir way of life.

The fall of Ilia Malinin

The overwhelming favorite to win gold in men's figure skating, Ilia Malininfell twice in his free skate program. The falls sent him tumbling from first place all the way off the podium.

"Honestly, yeah, I was not expecting that," Malinin said. "I felt going into this competition I was so ready. I just felt ready going on that ice. I think maybe that might have been the reason, is I was too confident it was going to go well."

The joy of Alysa Liu

Alysa Liu won the U.S. itsfirst women's figure skating gold medal in 24 yearswith a joy-filled, near-flawless free skate.

The 20-year-old had walked away from skating before finding her way back again,and found herself in the process.

"I think my story is more important than anything to me," Liu said, "and that's what I will hold dear, and this journey has been incredible, and my life has just been — I have no complaints."

U.S. politics seep into the Games

American athletes facedpersistent questions about President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agendaand their comfort in representing a country whose policies are increasingly controversial on the world stage.

American freeskier Hunter Hess said he didn't back the U.S. president's immigration crackdown, prompting Trump to call him a "loser." Chloe Kim, Eileen Gu and Hess' teammatescalled for unity in response.Hess responded during halfpipe qualifying byflashing an "L" on his forehead, saying he stands by his statement and loves the U.S.

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U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn also saidshe received threats on social mediaafter saying during a pre-Olympics news conference that the queer community is going through a "hard time" amid the political climate under Trump.

Ukrainian skeleton racer's helmet tribute

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was barred from competingwhen he refused to not use a helmet that honored more than 20 athletes and coaches killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The International Olympic Committee said wearing the helmet would break rules against making statements on the field of play. The IOC asked Heraskevych to wear a different helmet in races. It offered concessions, such as wearing a black armband or letting him display the helmet once he was off the ice.

"I believe, deeply, the (The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation) and IOC understand that I'm not violating any rules," Heraskevych said. "Also, I would say (it's) painful that it really looks like discrimination because many athletes already were expressing themselves."

Cheating allegations in curling

The seemingly quaint and cordial sport ofcurling was rocked by cheating allegationsduring the Winter Games. First Canada was accused, then Britain. The main infraction? Double-touching.

After a wild few days with expletives and a brief rule change, tensions simmered and teams and players more or less moved on.

"It's the Olympics," said Canadian curler Ben Hebert. "It'll be over in two weeks and everyone will go back to covering curling in four years."

A different kind of cheating

Sturla Holm Laegreid, one of Norway's top biathletes, finished third in the 20-kilometer individual race at the Olympics, and then gave one of the most bizarre interviews that quickly went viral.

Laegreid, full of remorse, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK – and the whole world –he had been unfaithful to his girlfriend.

He later said he regretted airing his personal businessand overshadowing his teammate's Olympic gold medal.But the meme damage had already been done.

North American showdown in hockey

Hockey was always going to be a big deal at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Even before the first puck dropped, there wereworries about the new arenaand excitement aboutthe Olympic return of NHL stars.As many had predicted,Canada and the United Statesmade the final of both the men's and women's tournaments. TheU.S. wonbothgold medalgames in overtime.

South America's first Winter Games medal

While Brazil was reveling in Carnival, Alpine ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen gave the country another reason to celebrate —an Olympic gold medal in giant slalom.

It was the first-ever medal at the Winter Games for any country in South America.

"I've tried over and over again to put words into what it is that I'm feeling," Pinheiro Braathen said. "But it's simply impossible."

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

THITU ISLAND, South China Sea, Feb 23 (Reuters) - As the Philippine Coast Guard plane descended toward the country's most strategically important outpost in the disputed South China Sea, passengers' phones lit up with a roaming alert: "Welcome to CHINA."

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela gestures beside Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros during a visit to Philippine-occupied Thitu Island in the disputed South China Sea

Among those ‌on board were Senator Risa Hontiveros and Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela, both outspoken critics of Beijing's actions in the ‌South China Sea.

After landing on Saturday, they spoke to island residents to reaffirm that Thitu Island "is ours", even as Chinese Coast Guard vessels, a People's Liberation Army Navy ship, ​and some Chinese fishing boats lingered within sight of the shore.

China's persistent presence has pushed islanders, who rely on those waters for their livelihood, farther from the sea they once freely navigated.

At just 37 hectares (0.37 sq km), the coral-fringed Thitu, known to Filipinos as Pag-asa, or "Hope", is the largest and most prized of the nine Philippines-held features in the Spratly archipelago, located 450 km (280 miles) from the mainland.

Its 400-odd residents live modestly, far ‌from the trappings of city life. Yet their ⁠quiet presence reinforces the Philippines' claim of sovereignty at a time of mounting Chinese pressure.

The visit by Hontiveros and Tarriela, coming as rhetoric on both sides has sharpened, is likely to draw scrutiny from Beijing and add ⁠strain to an already tense territorial dispute.

"We will never give up the Kalayaan Island Group, including Pag-asa," Hontiveros told residents, referring to the portion of the Spratly Islands that Manila claims and administers, including Thitu.

Both officials have been repeatedly singled out in Chinese Embassy statements and online messaging campaigns, part of a ​broader ​effort to shape narratives about the South China Sea.

Manila's appointment of a dedicated ​foreign ministry spokesperson on maritime affairs reflects a growing ‌sensitivity within government ranks as China's physical and informational pressure intensifies.

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'WE ARE NOT AFRAID'

On Pag‑asa, China's pressure is not abstract.

Among those listening to Hontiveros was 45-year-old fisherman Rando Asiado, who said the long-standing presence of Chinese vessels has kept him from venturing to rich fishing grounds near Subi Reef and the nearby Sandy Cays.

"There are times when Chinese Coast Guard vessels would chase us away, so we are forced to stay on one side of the island. And when we try to fish on the other side, Chinese drones fly over us," said Asiado, who has ‌been living on the island since 2012.

China claims most of the South China ​Sea, despite the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidating the claims in ​a 2016 ruling.

Just 14 nautical miles from Thitu, Subi Reef ​is one of seven artificial islands China has built in the Spratlys to support its sovereignty claims. Some ‌artificial islands are equipped with surface-to-air missiles, aircraft hangars ​and runways.

Approaches by the Chinese Coast Guard ​have become so routine that Filipino fishermen now cast their nets in less productive waters to avoid confrontation.

China's actions in the South China Sea, which have included water-cannoning and close-quarter manoeuvring of ships, have resulted in collisions and injury to Philippine crews.

China has ​maintained its actions are lawful and professional, accusing ‌Manila's vessels of intruding into its territory.

"We're not afraid because we know we're in the right, but they're using ships ​while we only have small boats. We don't stand a chance, so to avoid trouble, we just steer away," ​said 51-year-old fisherman Ronnie Cojamco.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Michael Perry)

By Bart H. Meijer and Charlotte Van Campenhout

THE HAGUE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Rob Jetten became the youngest prime minister in Dutch history on Monday when his minority government was formally confirmed in power by King Willem-Alexander.

Jetten, 38, ‌propelled his progressive, pro-EU D66 party to a surprising election victory last October in a polished and optimistic campaign, ‌promising a break from the divisive previous government dominated by nationalist Geert Wilders.

His optimism will be put to the test from the start, as his centre-right coalition lacks ​a majority in the Netherlands' lower and upper houses of parliament and will need opposition support for all its proposals.

The coalition of D66, the conservative Christian Democrats and right-wing VVD marks a rare experiment in the euro zone's fifth-largest economy, traditionally governed by majority coalitions with detailed government pacts.

But securing a majority has become increasingly difficult in the fractured Dutch political landscape, as voter preferences change in every cycle and ‌centrist parties have steadily lost support.

UPHILL BATTLE

In ⁠a clear sign of the uphill battle Jetten faces, opposition parties from the left to the right have denounced the coalition's plans to fund a historic increase in defence spending through cuts in welfare and ⁠healthcare.

Left-wing opposition leader Jesse Klaver last Friday said the plans were "unfair", after independent calculations had shown they would disproportionately hurt people on lower incomes.

"Ordinary people will pay hundreds of euros more, while nothing extra is asked of the richest," he said in a post on social media platform ​X. "This has ​to change."

Wilders has said he will oppose any initiative by Jetten's government, ​while a range of smaller parties have all voiced ‌concerns about the plans that have been presented so far.

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The coalition has vowed to increase defence spending to the new NATO target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035, up from about 2% today, through a "freedom tax", in the form of a surcharge in income taxes.

The coalition aims to limit unemployment benefits, to hike people's own contributions to healthcare and to accelerate the increase of the retirement age in step with rising life expectancy.

The coalition has also promised a strict approach to asylum migration, a topic that has split Dutch ‌politics for years and has led to the downfall of the previous ​two governments.

DOWNPLAYING DISADVANTAGE

Jetten has tried to downplay the disadvantage of only holding 66 of ​the 150 lower-house seats, calling it an opportunity for ​better cooperation in parliament, after the Wilders-era of political infighting without progress on any policy issue.

In the ‌days before his government's installation, he said there was still ​room to adjust plans.

"We see ​that everybody pays a price, but that it's not spread totally evenly," he said.

"We can take time in the coming months to improve the plans, before we draft our final budget."

YESILGOZ ON DEFENCE

Overseeing the surge in spending will be new Defence ​minister Dilan Yesilgoz, who took over the ‌lead of the VVD party in 2023 from Mark Rutte, the Netherlands' longest serving prime minister and current chief ​of NATO.

Former member of European Parliament Tom Berendsen is the new Foreign minister, while Eelco Heinen stayed on at ​Finance.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Bart MeijerEditing by Gareth Jones)