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Lindsey Vonn injury update: Olympian is back in the U.S.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn is back in the United States after she suffered a complex tibia fracture at the 2026 Winter Olympics, she announced on social media on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

‘Haven’t stood on my feet in over a week…,’ Vonn wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘been in a hospital bed immobile since my race. And although I’m not yet able to stand, being back on home soil feels amazing.’

What happened to Lindsey Vonn?

Vonn hooked the fourth gate with her right arm, which sent her spinning and hurtling into the hard, packed snow. She tumbled end over end several times before coming to a stop.

‘Things just happen so quick in this sport,’ U.S. teammate Bella Wright said after the race. ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn, and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that.’

The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, and she could be heard wailing in pain. The gasps and groans from fans faded into shocked silence as medics worked on her. Vonn remained on the course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter.

What is Lindsey Vonn’s injury?

In an Instagram post on Feb. 9, Vonn shared the devastating news that she suffered a complex tibia fracture that will require multiple surgeries. The 41-year-old updated fans on Feb. 11 after a third surgery in Italy and included some gruseome photos of her progress. On Feb. 14, Vonn posted after her third surgery that she still has more procedures ahead of her, but was finally able to return to the United States.

‘Once I’m back I will give you more updates and info about my injury,’ Vonn wrote.

A tibia fracture is a break in the shin bone that is an emergency needing immediate treatment. ‘Your tibias are some of the strongest bones in your body. It usually takes a lot of force to break one,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic. ‘You probably won’t be able to stand, walk or put weight on your leg if you have a broken shin bone.’

A complex fracture involves multiple breaks in a bone and damaged soft tissue, according Yale Medicine. Symptoms include extreme pain, numbness and, sometimes, a bone that protrudes through the skin. Treatment involves stabilization and surgery.

Lindsey Vonn crash video

NBC broadcasts the Olympics and posted video of Vonn’s crash.

USA TODAY Sports’ Samantha Cardona-Norberg breaks down Linsdey Vonn’s crash just after it happened.

Fans went silent as soon as Vonn crash, reacting with shock, grief and later support as the helicopter lifted her into the sky. USA TODAY Sports talked to some fans after the crash .

Is Lindsey Vonn OK?

Vonn was in obvious pain after the crash, but she was moving her arms, head and neck.

About 18 minutes after the crash, the helicopter slowly began flying toward Cortina. ‘Let’s let Lindsey Vonn hear us!’ the American announcer said as the chopper flew away with her, and the crowd cheered and applauded.

Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow was at the course today for the downhill and spoke to NBC reporters during their live broadcast:

‘I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign,’ Kildow said. ‘But she really … She just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s okay.

‘She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.’

Lindsey Vonn torn ACL

It was second time in as many weeks Vonn left a mountaintop on a chopper. She fully ruptured her left ACL, sustaining meniscus damage and bone bruising, in a downhill crash on Jan. 30, in the final World Cup event prior to the start of the Olympics.

Vonn is also skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them.

Despite the latest injury, Vonn was determined to race at her fifth and final Olympics. She said her knee felt stable and strong, and she had spent the last week doing intense rehab, pool workouts, weight lifting and plyometrics. She skied both training runs, posting the third-fastest time in the second run before it was canceled because of fog and snow.

Lindsey Vonn torn ACL

Vonn is 41 and was skiing in her fifth Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018, 2026). She has won three Olympic medals (1 gold, 2 bronze).

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DHS shutdown drags into 4th day as Senate Democrats block funding over ICE reforms

The Senate inched closer to striking a compromise on a Homeland Security (DHS) funding deal as the partial government shutdown entered its fourth day Tuesday.

Whether Senate Democrats and the White House can reach a deal this week while lawmakers are out of town remains an open question.

Negotiations between the Trump administration and Senate Democrats were seemingly at an impasse through much of Monday after little activity over the weekend. The White House provided a counteroffer to Democrats’ list of demands midway through last week, which they summarily rejected and, in turn, blocked attempts to fund DHS.

But that changed when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., office announced that Senate Democrats had sent their counterproposal to the White House late Monday night. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was wary of whether Schumer and his caucus would actually put forth a response, but remained hopeful that negotiations would continue. 

‘We’ll see if they are at all serious about actually getting a solution to this, or whether they just want to play political games with these really important agencies,’ Thune told Fox News Digital. 

He also noted that lawmakers went through the same exercise last year when Senate Democrats slow-walked negotiations during the 43-day shutdown.  

‘It’s wrong, in my view, for Democrats to use these folks as collateral in yet another harmful government shutdown,’ Thune said.

The administration wants to keep the dialogue going, a White House official told Fox News Digital.

‘The Trump administration remains interested in having good-faith conversations with Democrats,’ the White House official said.

The official noted that Senate Democrats’ refusal to extend DHS funding is affecting several key functions under the agency’s umbrella, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Secret Service.

‘President Trump has been clear — he wants the government open,’ the official said.

The partial government shutdown, which went into effect over the weekend, stems from Schumer and Senate Democrats’ demands for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE operations are unlikely to be significantly affected by the lapse in DHS funding, as legislation backed by President Donald Trump allocates billions of dollars to immigration enforcement.

Both sides remain at odds over how far those changes should go. Senate Republicans have signaled willingness to cede some ground but have drawn a red line on certain demands, such as requiring ICE agents to obtain judicial warrants or prohibiting them from wearing face coverings during enforcement actions.

Senate Democrats, however, describe their 10 demands as straightforward reforms designed to ensure federal immigration agents adhere to standards similar to those governing local and state police.

‘There’s not much we need to figure out,’ Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital. ‘Either you think ICE agents are special, and they get to own our streets with no accountability, or that ICE agents should follow the same rules as everyone else — that’s all Democrats are asking for.’

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US nuclear testing debate reignites after State Dept alleges China nuclear test

The State Department’s allegation that China conducted a yield-producing nuclear test in 2020 is reigniting debate in Washington over whether the United States can continue its decades-long moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. 

U.S. officials warned that Beijing may be preparing tests in the ‘hundreds of tons’ range — a scale that underscores China’s accelerating nuclear modernization and complicates efforts to draw Beijing into arms control talks.

Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno said recently that the United States has evidence China conducted an explosive nuclear test at its Lop Nur site.

‘I can reveal that the U.S. government is aware that China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons,’ DiNanno said during remarks at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament.

He added that ‘China conducted one such yield-producing nuclear test on June 22 of 2020.’

DiNanno also accused Beijing of using ‘decoupling’ — detonating devices in ways that dampen seismic signals — to ‘hide its activities from the world.’

China’s foreign ministry has denied the allegations, accusing Washington of politicizing nuclear issues and reiterating that Beijing maintains a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing.

But the accusation has sharpened questions about verification, deterrence and whether the U.S. stockpile stewardship program — which relies on advanced simulations rather than live detonations — remains sufficient in an era of renewed great-power nuclear competition.

Why small nuclear tests are hard to detect

Detecting small underground nuclear tests has long been one of the thorniest problems in arms control.

Unlike the massive atmospheric detonations of the Cold War, modern nuclear tests are conducted deep underground. If a country uses so-called ‘decoupling’ techniques — detonating a device inside a large underground cavity to muffle the seismic shock — the resulting signal can be significantly reduced, making it harder to distinguish from natural seismic activity.

That vulnerability has been debated for decades in discussions over the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which China signed but never ratified. Even a relatively small underground detonation can provide valuable weapons data while remaining difficult to detect.

‘If you detonate a device inside a large underground cavity, you can significantly attenuate the seismic signature,’ said Chuck DeVore, chief national initiatives officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former Pentagon official. ‘That makes it much harder to detect with confidence.’

Are simulations enough?

China signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 but has not ratified it, and the treaty has never entered into force. It has maintained a voluntary testing moratorium — a commitment that a yield-producing detonation would contradict.

As China expands its nuclear arsenal and major arms control frameworks falter, the Cold War principle of ‘trust but verify’ is under growing strain.

‘The arms control community should feel thoroughly discredited at this point,’ DeVore said, arguing that policymakers should not assume Western restraint will be reciprocated by Beijing.

For decades, the U.S. has relied on the Stockpile Stewardship Program — advanced computer modeling and simulations — to ensure its weapons remain reliable without explosive testing. DeVore warned that this approach may no longer be sufficient if competitors are conducting live detonations.

‘The question presupposes that we only live in a technical world,’ he told Fox News, arguing that relying solely on simulations while rivals ‘cheat at every treaty they’ve ever signed’ risks leaving the United States behind.

DeVore also pointed to what he described as a growing institutional challenge.

‘Virtually everyone who had direct experience with live testing is now retired,’ he said. ‘Rebuilding that expertise would take years.’

But not all nuclear experts agree that resuming testing is the answer.

Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, cautioned that a return to live detonations would be far more complex and costly than critics of the current system suggest.

‘Yield testing isn’t a magic switch,’ Sokolski said. ‘If you want meaningful reliability data, you don’t do one test — you do many.’

He noted that the United States conducted more than 1,000 nuclear tests during the Cold War, building a deep database that now underpins the program. Restarting that process, he argued, would likely require years of preparation and significant funding before yielding strategic benefits.

‘The debate isn’t pro-nuclear weapon versus anti-nuclear weapon,’ Sokolski said. ‘It’s about what’s technically necessary and what’s economical.’

A debate inside the weapons complex

Sokolski said the disagreement extends even within the U.S. nuclear weapons complex.

‘Certainly at one of our major labs that likes using calculations — that’s Livermore — they would say you’re home,’ he said, referring to confidence in advanced simulations and hydrodynamic modeling.

Others place greater weight on empirical validation and preserving the option of live testing.

The dispute, he said, is not ideological but technical — centered on confidence levels, cost and long-term strategic planning.

Allies and the credibility question

The implications extend beyond Washington and Beijing. 

Sokolski warned that the credibility of ‘extended deterrence’ — the U.S. commitment to defend allies under its nuclear umbrella — could come under strain if doubts grow about American resolve or capability.

‘Do they think you’re going to come to their defense?’ Sokolski said. ‘If they don’t, it doesn’t matter how reliable your weapons are, extended deterrence isn’t going to work very well.’

Allies such as Japan and South Korea long have relied on U.S. nuclear guarantees rather than pursuing independent arsenals. Any perception that the balance is shifting could complicate regional stability and long-standing nonproliferation efforts.

The policy crossroads

For now, U.S. lab directors continue to certify that the American arsenal remains safe, secure and reliable without explosive testing. But Heather Williams, director of the Project on Nuclear Issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said sustained testing by competitors — particularly absent transparency — could alter that calculus.

‘If Russia and China continue their nuclear testing activities without providing some sort of transparency, then the technical community might make a different assessment,’ she said.

The debate confronting U.S. policymakers is not simply whether to test, but under what conditions testing would meaningfully strengthen deterrence rather than accelerate competition.

Trump previously has suggested the U.S. should ensure testing ‘on an equal basis’ with competitors, though his administration has not formally announced a policy shift.

Trump in October 2025 suggested the U.S. should consider resuming nuclear weapons testing ‘on an equal basis’ with other powers, and at one point said that if others were testing, ‘I guess we have to test.’ 

The president did not clarify whether he meant full nuclear explosive detonations, which the U.S. has not conducted since 1992,  or other forms of testing such as delivery system evaluations that do not involve nuclear explosions. Any return to explosive testing would represent a significant shift in U.S. policy.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment. 

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LIZ PEEK: At Munich showdown AOC serves word salad as Rubio channels strength

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are both hopeful about becoming their party’s presidential nominee in 2028. They both have a shot. Odds-makers place the New York congresswoman second only to California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race to be the Democratic nominee, while President Trump, asked whether Vice President JD Vance is his chosen successor, has more than once suggested that Rubio is also in the running.

Recently, both spoke at the Munich Security Conference. While Secretary of State Rubio earned well-deserved applause from policymakers at home and abroad for his speech, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez showed she was not ready for prime time — not even close.

In what may prove a preview of the presidential race two years from now, Rubio and Ocasio-Cortez squared off on geopolitics. For Rubio, the occasion was another opportunity to articulate President Trump’s foreign policy vision — one that embraces American leadership powered by a strong military, a forceful trade agenda, energy independence and a robust economy. And, as we have seen, the Trump White House is not shy about using that military.

Trump has also declined to surrender national sovereignty to global treaties such as the Paris Climate Accord or institutions such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization — bodies he has deemed anti-American. In the case of the United Nations, the recent elevation of Abbas Tajik, Iran’s representative to the United Nations, to serve as vice chair of the 65th Session of the Commission for Social Development — a group purportedly ‘tasked with promoting democracy, gender equality, tolerance and non-violence,’ as one critic described it — proves once again the debasement of the institution’s integrity. Iran, which only recently crushed protests and slaughtered tens of thousands of its own innocent, unarmed citizens, should be thrown out of the U.N., not rewarded. And certainly not congratulated by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution — which he did even as his own Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning the mass murders.

Rubio’s speech was challenging, calling out European allies for succumbing to climate zealotry, encouraging mass migration, exporting industrial self-sufficiency and investing ‘in massive welfare states at the cost of maintaining the ability to defend themselves.’ But it was also conciliatory, emphasizing that ‘we are connected spiritually and we are connected culturally,’ and reviewing the many bonds that link the United States and Europe. It was an inspiring call for unity and progress, assuring the appreciative audience that ‘our destiny is and will always be intertwined with yours.’

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board described Rubio’s speech as drawn from Ronald Reagan’s playbook, arguing that Trump’s ‘greatest failure as president is that he won’t, or can’t, articulate his larger principles.’ I would argue that Trump is putting those principles into action, coherently and consistently, and that Rubio brilliantly summarized the Trump doctrine.

Meanwhile, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez delivered remarks at a forum on the sidelines of the Munich conference and reminded us why she should not be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office. Former Vice President Kamala Harris introduced Americans to the magic of word salads — the endless spewing of language that says nothing while helpfully obscuring vast pits of ignorace — but AOC has perfected the art.

Ocasio-Cortez is known as a fierce critic of Israel but otherwise is not known for her geopolitical views, having largely spent her career railing against corporations and the evil rich. But if she wants to run for president, it is important for her to demonstrate some basic foreign policy chops. Hence, the trip to Munich. Unhappily for her, the foray into the world of diplomacy did not go well. Even The New York Times had to admit that she had some ‘shaky moments.’

Asked whether the United States should come to Taiwan’s aid if China attempted to seize the island, Ocasio-Cortez hesitated for several uncomfortable minutes. Even the  description from anti-Trump left-wing Bloomberg, whose reporter had posed the question, said the response was ‘flubbed,’  and wrote: ‘Normally quick to respond, Ocasio-Cortez was at a loss for words, saying, ‘this is such a, a, you know, I think that, this is a, um, this is of course, a, ah, a very longstanding, um, policy of the United States.’’ Hilariously, the piece added that AOC regrouped with what it called a ‘cogent response,’ saying the United States should ‘avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.’ That’s cogent?

The Times, too, admitted the Munich outing ‘demonstrated the relative foreign policy inexperience of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’, and that she ‘struggled at times to formulate succinct answers’. But the Times excused her incapacity, describing the questions posed as ‘probing and specific.’ Asking her policy vis-à-vis Taiwan is hardly ‘probing’; this issue is, along with our relationship with Israel, fundamental.

Ocasio-Cortez also mixed up the trans-Atlantic partnership, referring to it as the ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership,’ and scoffed at Rubio’s claim that American cowboy culture came from Spain. (It did.) But the corker was another response she gave, enthusiastically endorsed by the Times, about President Trump’s foreign policy, ‘They are looking to withdraw the United States from the entire world so that we can turn into an age of authoritarians that can carve out a world where Donald Trump can command the Western Hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox, where Putin can saber-rattle around Europe.’

Yes, AOC, Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from the ‘entire world’ by trying to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, deliver the people of Iran, Venezuela and Cuba from authoritarian regimes, confront China, protect Christians in Nigeria, strengthen Western defense capabilities and pursue peace in the Middle East. Former President Joe Biden declared that ‘America is back,’ but did nothing to protect our interests around the globe.

Under President Trump, the U.S. is not only ‘back,’ it is also in the lead and moving persuasively forward.

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Rev Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader and Rainbow PUSH founder, dies at 84

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime civil rights leader, two-time Democratic presidential candidate and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, died Tuesday morning at the age of 84, his family said in a statement.

‘It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of civil rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. He died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family,’ the statement said.

‘Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,’ the Jackson family said. ‘We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions.’

A cause of death was not mentioned, but Jackson had suffered from multiple health problems in recent years. In 2017, Jackson revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He was also treated for progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare degenerative neurological disorder. Despite health setbacks that weakened his voice and mobility, he continued advocating for civil rights and was arrested twice in 2021 while protesting the Senate filibuster rule.

Born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson grew up in a segregated community. As a teenager, he excelled academically and earned a football scholarship to the University of Illinois before transferring to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, where he graduated in 1964.

He became involved in civil rights activism as a teenager and was arrested at 18 for participating in a sit-in at a segregated public library. The protest marked the beginning of his rise in the student-led movement challenging segregation across the South.

After graduation, Jackson left his studies at Chicago Theological Seminary to join the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, and later became a key figure in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. With King’s support, he led Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, a campaign aimed at expanding economic opportunities for Black Americans.

Jackson was in Memphis in 1968 when King was assassinated. In the years that followed, Jackson founded what became the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, an organization focused on civil rights, voter registration and economic empowerment. Over decades of activism, he received dozens of honorary degrees and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000 by President Bill Clinton.

Jackson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. In 1984, he won 18% of the primary vote. His campaign faced controversy over an antisemitic remark he made about New York’s Jewish community.

In 1988, Jackson won nearly 7 million votes — about 29% of the total — and finished first or second in multiple Super Tuesday contests. Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis ultimately secured the nomination.

Though he never held elected office, Jackson remained an influential political figure, advocating for expanded voter registration, lobbying for Washington, D.C., statehood, and at times serving as a diplomatic envoy, including efforts to secure the release of Americans held overseas.

In 2001, Jackson publicly acknowledged that he had fathered a daughter, Ashley, with a woman affiliated with his advocacy organization. He later apologized.

Jackson is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Jacqueline; their children — Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef and Jacqueline — daughter Ashley Jackson; and grandchildren.

Public observances will be held in Chicago with final funeral arrangements yet to be announced. 

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Mike Trout is ready to prove his doubters wrong

After several injury-plagued seasons, Mike Trout is motivated to prove he can still be one of baseball’s best players.
Trout has expressed his desire to return to playing center field, a position he feels most comfortable in.
Despite recent struggles and not being ranked among the game’s elite, Trout’s presence continues to command respect in the Angels’ clubhouse.

TEMPE, Ariz. — Mike Trout isn’t vowing to be the Mike Trout of old, the man who was baseball’s greatest player for nearly a decade.

The 11-time All-Star and three-time MVP winner insists he is not angry or upset that he no longer is considered one of the game’s elite players, or even listed among the top 100 players by MLB Network.

Yet ever so quietly the Los Angeles Angels say that they see Trout’s eyes smoldering, that intensity burning inside him, and the confidence to prove he can return to being one of the game’s finest players.

‘I know what I’m capable of doing,’ Trout said Monday. ‘And I feel great.’

The Angels can see it in his demeanor, hear it in his voice, and watch it in his interactions.

‘I’m excited for him, that’s my boy,’ Angels special assistant Torii Hunter, the nine-time Gold Glove winner, tells USA TODAY Sports. ‘I don’t care what nobody says, I think he’s going to have a good year, man. To hear his enthusiasm this year is way different than any other year.

‘I think he’s got a lot to prove. He’s going to prove everybody wrong, all of the naysayers.’

It’s not as if Trout is necessarily going to produce a 1.000 OPS as he did for three consecutive seasons, or hit 40 homers again, and he certainly won’t be stealing 40 bases.

But to believe he’s finished, to think that he can no longer help a team, then you don’t know Mike Trout, who for nine consecutive seasons finished in the top five in the American League MVP balloting.

‘He doesn’t need any rankings or lists to promote himself,’ Angels GM Perry Minasian says, ‘but this is a motivated person. I know the last three, four, five years haven’t been what any of us have hoped, but I believe he’s in constant competition with himself to be as he possibly can be.

‘It’s not even chasing the old Mike Trout, but it’s being as good as he can possibly be right now. You see how relaxed he is showing up, how confident he is. He can still do things that other people can’t do.’

There’s a reason Trout commands such a presence in the Angels camp, with teammates still in awe, remembering the days when he was the greatest player on the planet, drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, and all of the great center fielders before him.

‘My kids were wanting me to retire this winter,’ 36-year-old Angels reliever Brent Suter said, ‘but one day I told them, ‘What if Mike Trout wants me to be his teammate?’ They went crazy. My (7-year-old) son started chanting Mike Trout to his friends in school. They’re so excited, as am I. I never played with a bona fide first-ballot Hall of Famer.

‘He’s given more to this game than you can imagine. He’s such a huge ambassador for our game. Really, it’s an honor playing with him.’

Trout, 34, revealed Monday that he intends to return to center field, just like old times, a position he he last played on a regular basis four years ago.

He sat down with Minasian and rookie manager Kurt Suzuki when he arrived to camp Sunday, strongly expressed his desire to play center, and they promised they’d give him every opportunity. They don’t have a true center fielder, so why not?

‘I told (Suzuki) I’d play anywhere,’ Trout said, ‘but obviously I’d prefer center. I just feel more comfortable out there. I feel like I’m at my best when I’m in center. … When I’m out there, it’s just a lot better for me than worrying about the corners.’

The Angels are fully on board, believing he can play four, perhaps even five days a week in center field with occasional games in right field and at DH.

‘He’s in a great place,’ Minasian said. ‘He’s still strong, still explosive. We’re not closing the door on anything. Kurt and I are on the same page. He’s got the ability to play all three outfield spots. He’d do whatever we need. If we wanted him to play shortstop, he’d do that too.’

Trout is cool playing anywhere, but wants no part of being a full-time DH again as he did a year ago. He opened the 2025 season as a right fielder, but after 22 games, suffered a bone bruise on his surgically-repaired left knee running the bases. He returned a month later and was the Angels’ full-time the remainder of the season. He wound up producing the worst season of his career, hitting .232 with 26 homers, 64 RBI and a career-low .797 OPS.

Perhaps it was no coincidence that Trout’s last great season was when he was a center fielder back in 2022. He hit 40 homers with 80 RBI and a .999 OPS in 119 games that season. He since has been riddled with back, knee and calf injuries, playing in only 241 games out of 486.

Trout’s injury history prevented him from being able to participate in the WBC where he was captain of the USA Team in 2023. He likely wasn’t going to be in the starting lineup, but he badly wanted to play until discovering that the WBC insurance policy wouldn’t cover him in case of injury, potentially voiding the remaining $177.25 million remaining in the last five years of his contract.

‘It’s disappointing,’ Trout said. ‘I definitely wanted to run it back, you know, with all of the guys.’

Now, staying with the Angels all spring, it gives him a chance to prove he can be an everyday center fielder again. If he didn’t believe he could pull it off, he wouldn’t be so adamant about the move. But he feels completely healthy, lost about six pounds, and for the first time in five years is coming off a normal winter of workouts.

Besides, the Angels actually are a better team with a healthy Trout in center field. The Angels could move Jo Adell back to his natural position in right field and have Josh Lowe in left with Jorge Soler as the primary DH.

‘I felt like when I was in center, it was less (stress) on my body,’ Trout said. ‘To be honest, right field felt like I was running a lot. It’s just a preference thing. Talking to some other outfielders, they feel the same way sometimes, that center is less on your legs. I just feel more confident in center.’

And, yes, there’s also the matter of pride. It’s tough for anyone to be told to give up their natural position despite being reminded constantly that Father Time is undefeated.

‘For Mike, I can only imagine that you’re a center field for so long and then they tell you to go to right or DH, that’s pride,’ said Hunter, who moved to right field in 2011 to make room for Peter Bourjos and Trout. ‘You got to swallow it.

‘But he lost a lot of weight. He was so strong at the top, it’s heavy on the legs. Now, he’s going to be able to move more efficiently. So having him play center field might be a good thing.’

Forget the physical burden of playing center, Hunter says, it’s the mental aspect that could greatly benefit Trout, knowing he can be provide value on the defensive side, too.

‘When you’re an athlete like Trout, playing center field for so long,’ Hunter said, ‘he used that defense to pump him up offensively. Defense never slumps, but it can actually pump you up. But if you’re not playing defense, and you struggle at the plate, then all you do is go and sit down and watch video.

‘That’s when the devil starts playing with your mind. Now, he can go out there and no matter what happens at the plate, he can always go out there and make something happen for the team.’

And if Trout is back, and stays healthy, well maybe the Angels can start dreaming of being a legitimate contender again.

‘At the end of the day,’ Minasian says, ‘a healthy Mike Trout obviously changes this club. I think he’s primed for a big year. We’re lucky to have him.’

Follow Bob Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

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Cheating accusations at two Olympics not good look for Canada

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Maybe we’ve gotten the Canadians all wrong.

They seem to have the market cornered on niceness, the type of folks who always say hello and never have a bad word to say about anyone or anything. Certainly not the type to cause a ruckus or, gasp, cheat.

And yet …

For the second Olympics in a row, Canada is facing accusations that it’s playing fast and loose with the rules to get an edge. Last time it was soccer, when the Canadian women’s team was caught using drones to spy on opponents at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, it’s curling. Curling!

Canada’s men’s team was called out not once but twice over the weekend for “double touching,” which can be either touching the stone after its release or touching the granite at any point. Then Canada’s women were accused of a similar offense.

“Obviously it’s frustrating to have that happen,” said Canada skip Rachel Homan, who had a stone removed from the ice for a double-touch violation during a match against Sweden on Saturday, Feb. 14.

“But we’re trying to stick together as a team, and we’re supporting the guys and they’re doing the same for us,” Homan said. “There’s zero intention. It kind of got blown up for no reason.”

That is probably true.

The Canadian curlers are accused of trying to manipulate their stones’ trajectory, not carrying them down the ice and depositing them in the house (the bullseye that is the curlers’ goal).

Plus, a curling stone weighs between 38 and 44 pounds and there is 21 feet of ice between the hogline and the house. Giving the handle an extra tap, or even touching the granite, isn’t going to be what gets Canada on the podium.

But it’s the combination of a cheating scandal in curling – which is always going to be fodder for the “sport, not a sport” debate – and the nicest people on earth being at the center of it that has turned it into the cause celebre at these Games.

“There’s always something blowing up at the Olympics, right? This year it’s this,” sweeper Emma Miskew said after Canada beat China on Monday, Feb. 16, to get to 2-3 in the tournament at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

“It’s all good. We’ll get through it,” Miskew said. “I think it’ll die down eventually.”

Yes, but what about the damage done to Canada’s image as the country nobody can hate?

Canadians are the human equivalent of Disneyland. The next time they’re accused of being obnoxious or braggarts it will be the first. They’re easy-going and fun. Being around them is an immediate mood boost.

They’re like Australians, only with moose and maple syrup instead of koalas and kangaroos.

Now the world, especially people not paying close attention, are going to think Canada is just as corrupt as everybody else. That they’ll cut corners and throw people under the bus if it benefits them.

The Canadians don’t see it that way, of course. They believe they’re the wronged party.  

“We’ve played the game at a high level long enough where we weren’t looking for infractions. … We just trust that the people around us aren’t trying to cheat,” said Canada’s Marc Kennedy, who was called out for double touching by Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson to start this whole mess.

“There might be small infractions here and there, but most of the time you shrug it off. You’ve got so much respect for the players that you’re playing against,” Kennedy said Monday. “So this whole trying to catch people in the act of an infraction and anything to win a medal, it sucks. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”

Except there’s video of the infractions. And while the Canadians might say they’re inadvertent, it was a similar story initially in Paris.

The women’s coaching staff initially denied involvement or knowledge of the drone scheme, only for an investigation to reveal that it was a long-standing operation and the coaches had full knowledge and involvement in it.

Maybe this time is different. Maybe the double touch accusations are nothing but a misunderstanding. But when a country has cheating scandals in back-to-back Olympics, it starts to look like a pattern. And once trust is broke, the cloud of suspicion is almost impossible to clear.

Even if you’re Canadian.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

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USA women’s hockey will play for Olympic gold after win over Sweden

MILAN — Captain Hilary Knight stood on the ice as her USA women’s hockey teammates filed off, one by one, following another resounding performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The five-time Olympian, chasing her second Olympic gold medal, fist bumped each of her teammates, the last to go through the gap in the boards and head to the locker room.

There was Cayla Barnes, who scored about 5 minutes into the American’s 5-0 semifinal win over Sweden, her first goal of the tournament. There was Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hayley Scamurra, who all scored in the second period, the latter three of whom scored within less than 3 minutes of each other.

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“I think this is one of the best groups I’ve ever been part of,’ Edwards said. ‘I think our depth and being from top, down being that everyone plays a really good 200-foot game and we just play well together.”

The players, who have combined to score 31 goals so far this tournament, lingered briefly before heading into the tunnel, waving to fans and taking in the moment. They had gotten past their second-to-last hurdle, standing between them and that coveted Olympic gold, which the U.S. women have won twice (1998, 2018) and played for six times previously.

‘It’s hard to kind of zoom out while you’re here and look at the big picture because you’re so focused on the day to day,’ goaltender Aerin Frankel said. ‘But I think we look back at this tournament, what we’ve done so far has been amazing.’

The Americans outshot the Swedes 34-23, and Frankel was impenetrable, keeping Sweden off the board with spectacular save after save to preserve a fifth consecutive shutout. Meanwhile, as Knight remains one goal and one point away from setting the new U.S. Olympic all-time record in both categories, the vaunted leader is more than fine with her teammates getting the shine, quickly deflecting all praise to her teammates at every turn.

‘Anytime I put on this jersey, I feel just so lucky to be a part of this group because there’s so much talent in our locker room and it’s just so much fun to play with the best players in the world,’ Frankel said.

The Americans will play Canada in the gold medal match on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET.

What USA women’s hockey players said about playing for Olympic gold

Joy Dune: ‘I think it speaks for itself what we want him here to do. We’ll just let the score speak for itself. We’re just going to keep pushing, knowing we can be better. There’s always room for improvement. We’re a really good team, but we can always continue to be better.’
Aerin Frankel: ‘It’s hard to kind of zoom out while you’re here and look at the big picture because you’re so focused on the day to day. But I think we look back at this tournament, what we’ve done so far has been amazing.’
Laila Edwards: ‘I mean, I think, believe it or not, we have been challenged and we just overcome it and succeeded, but we’ll take what we can get and hopefully come out on top.’

USA women’s hockey scores a rout vs. Sweden

Hayley Scamurra netted a goal at 37:59 to continue the Americans’ dominance in this semifinal matchup — and in this Olympic tournament. The goal gave USA a 5-0 lead.

Sweden swapped out goalkeeper Ebba Svensson Träff for Emma Soderberg at the 36:10 mark immediately after Träff conceded the four goal of the match, including two in less than a minute. Soderberg gave up a goal less than two minutes later to Hayley Scamurra.

USA women’s hockey scores 2 goals in less than a minute

Not 6 minutes after Taylor Heise put the Americans up 2-0, Abbey Murphy and Kendall Coyne Schofield scored within a minute of each other to extend the lead to 4-0. Hannah Bilka and Haley Winn were credited with the assist on Murphy’s goal; Megan Keller and Laila Edwards were credited with the assist on Coyne Schofield’s goal.

Taylor Heise scores for USA women’s hockey

Forward Taylor Heise extended USA’s lead over Sweden to 2-0 at the 29:09 mark. Hannah Bilka made a break toward the goal and connected with Heise, who tapped the puck in for her second score of the tournament. Abbey Murphy was also credited with an assist.

Read about her journey from being cut ahead of the 2022 Beijing Games to roaring back and becoming indespensible for this squad.

Jason Kelce stops by USA hockey vs. Sweden

U.S. women’s hockey rising star Laila Edwards isn’t the only Cleveland Heights native in the building. Fellow Ohioan Jason Kelce and his wife Kylie Kelce were in attendance at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Monday for Team USA’s semifinal matchup against Sweden.

Kelce was decked out in red, white and blue in a Team USA Kendall Coyne Schofield jersey.

Edwards revealed last month that Kelce and his brother, Travis Kelce, both donated to her GoFundMe campaign to bring her family and friends to Milan to cheer her on in person. Edwards became the first Black woman to score a goal for the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

Edwards, 22, assisted Schofield’s goal at the 36:10 mark.

USA’s Kirsten Simms called for interference

Kirsten Simms was called for an interference penalty, handing Sweden its second power play of the contest. The Americans were able to kill off the first power play and easily kept the Swedes away from their goal during the second.

USA women’s hockey roster

Here is the full U.S. women’s hockey roster for the Milano Cortina Olympics:

Forwards: Kirsten Simms; Kelly Pannek; Grace Zumwinkle; Hayley Scamurra; Britta Curl-Salemme; Hilary Knight; Tessa Janecke; Hannah Bilka; Joy Dunne; Alex Carpenter; Kendall Coyne Schofield; Taylor Heise; Abbey Murphy.
Goaltenders: Ava McNaughton; Aerin Frankel; Gwyneth Philips.
Defenders: Lee Stecklein; Cayla Barnes; Caroline Harvey; Megan Keller; Rory Guilday; Haley Winn; Laila Edwards.

USA women’s hockey coach

John Wroblewski has led the squad since August 2022. Under his leadership, the Americans have two golds and two silvers at IIHR Women’s World Championships.

USA’s Hayley Scamurra hits penalty box

USA forward Hayley Scamurra is heading to the penalty box after being called for tripping. The penalty gave Sweden a one-player advantage and their first power play of the night.

USA women’s hockey leads Sweden after first period

The U.S. women have a 1-0 lead over Sweden after the first period. Cayla Barnes opened scoring at the 5:09 mark for the Americans, who recorded 13 shots on goal in the frame. Sweden registered only two shots on goal in the first period, including a breakaway shot that goalie Aerin Frankel caught to keep the Swedes off the board. Frankel has only one conceded one goal through three games, in addition to two shutouts.

USA gets first power play

The Americans got the first power play of the match after Sara Hjalmarsson was called for a boarding penalty at the 8:21 mark. However, Sweden was able to kill off the power play and is back at full strength.

USA women’s hockey takes 1-0 lead in first

The Americans are on the board just like that. Cayla Barnes hit a laser to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead over Sweden about 5 minutes into the first period. It was Barnes’ first goal of these Games and USA’s 27th of the tournament.

Kelly Pannek and Lee Stecklein were credited with the assist. The U.S. women are already up to 9-1 in shots on goal. The Swedes didn’t notch their first until more than halfway through the opening frame.

Caroline Harvey stats

Caroline Harvey has nine points so far these Games — two goals, seven assists — the most by a U.S. defender in an Olympics tournament.

Hilary Knight stats

The U.S. hockey captain and five-time Olympian is sitting on the doorstep of breaking two records. Most points by an American at the Olympics and most goals by an American at the Olympics. She is tied with Jenny Potter for most points (32), and in a three-way tie with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King for most goals (14).

USA women’s hockey game vs. Sweden underway

And we’re off here at this Olympics semifinal game. About 20 seconds into the first period, chants of ‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’ broke out from the crowd.

USA women’s hockey stats

The Americans are 5-1 in the semifinals at the Olympics, the only loss coming to Sweden at the 2006 Games.
This is the sixth time these sides have met in the Olympics. The Americans hold a 4-0-1-0 record.

USA women’s hockey lines today

What time does USA hockey play today?

Date: Monday, Feb. 16
Time: 10:40 a.m. ET
Location: Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena

Puck drop between the U.S. women’s hockey team and Switzerland is set for 10:40 a.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 16 from the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

USA women’s hockey game today

TV channel: USA Network
Streaming options: NBCOlympics.com | NBC Olympic App | Peacock

USA Network will broadcast Monday’s U.S. women’s hockey semifinal matchup against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Streaming options for the game include NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Olympic App (with a TV login).

You can also stream the game on Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

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This Canadian skier kept dare-devil style to reach wildest Olympic dreams

Canadian Megan Oldham won a gold medal in the women’s free ski big air event in Livigno, Italy.
Oldham’s victory came after recovering from a concussion in November and a crash during the slopestyle event a week prior.
This is Oldham’s second medal of the games, adding to a bronze she won in slopestyle.
China’s Eileen Gu secured her fifth Olympic medal by winning silver in the same event.

LIVIGNO, Italy — Megan Oldham wanted to bring one medal back to Canada. Any color would do.

She certainly won’t complain then with two in her suitcase – one being gold that the 24-year-old won Monday night in the women’s free ski big air event that was delayed 75 minutes as sidewinding snow blanketed the Valtellina Valley.

“Honestly, this has been an Olympics that has totally surpassed my dreams … and to come home with gold is something I never thought was possible,” Oldham said. “I’m so proud of myself.”

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And she should be. Her performance over the past week-plus at Livigno Snow Park – and really the last few months – has been rooted in perseverance.

In November, she suffered a concussion that put her on the shelf for four weeks. Oldham had never dealt with one before and faced uncertainty regarding the recovery, she said. Her coach, JF Cusson, was on the road with other athletes and couldn’t oversee that process. When she returned, Cusson said, they had to scrap the original bag of tricks they planned on bringing to Italy since she’d injured herself trying to up her moves.

A week ago, she suffered a “heavy” crash on the final jump of her fist slopestyle run. She shook it off and made the podium with bronze. Of course, she’d be determined and do everything she could to display her skiing, Oldham said. That didn’t make the hematoma on her quad that would seize up any more comfortable.

By the big air finals, she wasn’t limping anymore — just some leftover bruising and soreness.

“I don’t what it is,” said Oldham, who finished fourth in big air in Beijing four years ago, which was tough to process for her. “But just something about it, I want to be up there and prove mostly to myself that I’m capable of it.”

Maybe that explains why she did not take a customary victory jump even though she’d secured gold by the last run of the night. She’d trained hard, after all, and wanted to show everyone the switch 1400 mute. She didn’t land it. It didn’t matter.

Growing up with two brothers – one older, one younger, both in town to watch their sister – who are adrenaline junkies, she tried to keep up with them. They bring out the best in her, she said.  

“Now I can hold this one over them, for sure,” she joked.

Skiing off the roof of family home’s garage was the example Oldham cited of how she and her brothers would get up to no good. One time, their dad came home as they were embarking on a “run.” He was livid – not necessarily concerned for their well-being. He feared them damaging the roof.  

“That was all my brother’s idea,” Oldham said. “I was just tagging along. That shows where it comes from, for sure. The no fear comes from him.”

Oldham’s win was Canada’s second gold of these Olympics – and second in as many days after Mikael Kingsbury won men’s dual moguls Sunday.

China’s Eileen Gu won her fifth Olympic medal in five events and will go for a sixth in the women’s halfpipe later this week. That would make her the most-decorated free skier – male or female – ever.

“Five-time Olympic medalist has a nice ring to it,” Gu said.

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US figure skating pairs Olympic drought continues

MILAN — Despite a strong showing, the U.S. medal drought in pairs figure skating continues.

Team USA fell short at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Monday, Feb. 16. The teams of Spencer Akira Howe and Emily Chan, and Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, were knocked off the podium before the competition ended. Howe and Chan finished in seventh, with Kam and O’Shea at ninth.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan won gold in come-from-behind fashion with an excellent free skate for the country’s first pairs medal. Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia won silver, and bronze went to the German team of Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin.

The last time the U.S. won a medal in pairs remains 1988, when Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard won bronze in Calgary. The 38-year drought is the longest between medals for any figure skating discipline in U.S. Olympic history.

Neither pair was expected to be contending for a medal, but they both came out with a bang in the short program, including Kam and O’Shea riding the momentum of their team event gold to earn a season-best score.

That placed them within striking distance going into the free skate. Kam and O’Shea were in seventh place – less than three points out of third – while Chan and Howe were less than five points back in ninth place.

Chan and Howe were the first U.S. pair to go in what was their strongest part of the competition, and the score reflected it. Despite Chan falling early in the program, they powered right through the deduction and executed everything the rest of the way. The pair got a season-best score of 130.25 for a total score of 200.31.

‘We’re so stoked that we could do two strong performances and finish our Olympic Games competition as we did,’ Howe said. ‘We work so hard to get to this stage, and then once you make it, it’s kind of like your brain doesn’t know how to process that.’

Unfortunately for Kam and O’Shea, they weren’t able to replicate the magic from the team event. Kam had back-to-back falls early in program that spoiled the momentum, earning a score of 122.71 for a final tally of 194.58.

The pair won’t be leaving Milano empty-handed with their team event gold medals the highlight of the trip.

‘Definitely did leave it all out there, just not in the way that I had thought that it was gonna go,’ Kam said. ‘But I’m still so proud of everything that we’ve done here. I feel like all the work that we put in at home has carried through to this competition.’

Still, it’s a promising outing that continues the upward trajectory in the U.S. pairs’ division. When Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier finished fifth in the 2022 Winter Olympics, it was the first top five finish for Team USA since 2002. Coupled with the eighth-place finish from Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc, it was the first time the U.S. had two top-10 pairs since 1998.

Now, with both teams finishing in top 10, it’s the first time the U.S. has had it happen in back-to-back Winter Olympics since 1998 and 2002. Instead of regressing, the pairs are trending. That explains why both teams were all smiles afterward, feeling like they each accomplished great things in their own ways in their respective Olympic debuts.

‘What’s not to be positive about, right?’ a smiling O’Shea said.

Team USA has had so-so performances in figure skating ever since it won team gold to kick off the festivities in Milano Cortina, not winning another title since. Madison Chock and Evan Bates controversially settled for silver in the ice dance, and Ilia Malinin’s stunning collapse in the men’s resulted in no medal.

Now the final group to go will be the women, which will feature the ‘Blade Angels’ in Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito. They are all medal contenders, with the chance to win gold, something Team USA needs since it was the favorites in three of the four disciplines.

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