By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer picked by judges to serve as the top federal prosecutor for a Virginia office that pursued cases against foes of President Donald Trump was swiftly fired Friday by the Justice Department in the latest clash over the appointments of powerful U.S. attorneys.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the firing of James Hundley on social media shortly after he was unanimously chosen by judges to replace former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. While the law says that the district court may choose U.S. attorneys when an initial appointment expires, the Trump administration has insisted that the power lies only in the hands of the executive branch.

“EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, you’re fired!” Blanche said in a post on X.

Hundley, who has handled criminal and civil cases for more than 30 years, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday evening.

The firing of Hundley is the latest reflection of tumult in one of the Justice Department’s most elite prosecution offices, which since September has been mired in upheaval following the resignation of a veteran prosecutor amid Trump administration pressure to prosecute two of the president’s biggest political foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

That prosecutor, Erik Siebert, was effectively forced out and swiftly replaced by Halligan, a White House aide who secured indictments against Comey and James but was later deemed by a judge to have been unlawfully appointed. The cases were dismissed, but the Justice Department has appealed that decision.

Halligan resigned from the position last month after judges in the district signaled continued skepticism over the legitimacy of her appointment.

U.S. attorneys, the top federal prosecutors in regional Justice Department offices around the country, typically require Senate confirmation but the law does permit attorneys general to make temporary appointments for limited time periods. In several instances, though, the Justice Department has attempted to leave its temporary appointees in place in ways that have invited court challenges and drawn resistance from judges who have found the appointments unlawful.

Last week, a lawyer appointed by judges to be the U.S. attorney for northern New York was fired by the Justice Department after spending less than a day in the job. Judges in the district appointed Kinsella after declining to keep the Trump administration’s pick, John Sarcone, in place after his 120-day term elapsed.

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s vision of the Supreme Court, in which his three appointees are personally loyal to him, collided with the court’s view of itself Friday when six justices voted to strike down Trump’s signature economic policy — global tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law.

The outcome led Trump to launch an unusually stark personal attack on the justices, with special rancor reserved for the two Trump appointees who defied him.

The case represented a challenge of Trump’s many untested, yet forcefully stated imperatives on everything from trade to immigration policy and the court’s ability to maintain its independence and, at times, act as a check on presidential authority.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for the country,” Trump said in the White House briefing room several hours after the court issued its decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Trump said he expected as much from the three Democratic appointees on the court. “But you can’t knock their loyalty,” he said. “It’s one thing you can do with some of our people.”

Asked specifically about Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, who were part of the majority, Trump said, “I think it’s an embarrassment to their families, if you want to know the truth, the two of them.”

Vice President JD Vance, whose wife, Usha, spent a year as a law clerk to Roberts, echoed the president’s criticism, though he didn’t make it personal. “This is lawlessness from the Court, plain and simple,” Vance wrote on X.

Legal opposition to the tariffs crossed political lines, with a key challenge coming from the libertarian-leaning Liberty Justice Center and support from pro-business groups like the Chamber of Commerce.

Trump has had a checkered history with the court dating back to the start of his first White House term in 2017, though he won his biggest court battle in 2024, a presidential immunity ruling that prevented him from being prosecuted over efforts to undo his 2020 election loss.

In the first year of his second term, he won repeated emergency appeals that allowed him to implement major aspects of his immigration crackdown and other key parts of his agenda.

Presidential criticism of Supreme Court decisions has its own long history. President Thomas Jefferson was critical of the court’s landmark Marbury v. Madison case, which established the concept of judicial review of congressional and executive action. President Franklin Roosevelt, frustrated about decisions he thought blunted parts of the New Deal, talked about older justices as infirm and sought to expand the court, a failed effort.

In 2010, President Barack Obama used his State of the Union speech, with several members of the court in attendance, to take aim at the court’s just-announced Citizens United decision that helped open the floodgates to independent spending in federal elections. Justice Samuel Alito, who hasn’t attended the annual address since, mouthed the words “not true” in response from his seat.

Trump, though, crossed a line in the way he assailed the justices who voted against him, Ed Whelan, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a former law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, wrote in an email.

“It’s entirely fine for a president to criticize a Supreme Court ruling that goes against him. But it’s demagogic for President Trump to contend that the justices who voted against him did so because of lack of courage,” Whelan wrote.

Some presidents also have criticized justices they appointed for decisions they’ve made.

Following the seminal Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower told friends that appointing Chief Justice Earl Warren had been his biggest mistake, according to biographer Stephen E. Ambrose.

Objecting to a dissenting vote in an antitrust case, President Theodore Roosevelt once allegedly said of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, wounded in action during the Civil War, that he ”could carve out of a banana a judge with more backbone.”

But these remarks were conveyed in private, not at a livestreamed presidential appearance in the White House briefing room.

On a personal level, Trump has had a sometimes tense relationship with Roberts, who has twice issued public rebukes of the president over attacks on federal judges.

Trump didn’t mention Roberts by name on Friday, but he seemed to be assailing the chief justice when he said he lost the case because the justices “want to be politically correct,” “catering to a group of people in D.C.”

Trump used similar language when he criticized Roberts’ vote in 2012 that upheld Obamacare.

Similar to the timing following the Citizens United ruling, the president and some members of the court, dressed in their black robes, are likely to be in the same room Tuesday when Trump delivers his State of the Union address.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once nodded off during a presidential speech in the House of Representatives, attributing her drowsiness to some fine California wine. No justice is likely to be napping Tuesday night.

By MICHAEL PHILLIS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it backs a 10-year deadline for most cities and towns to replace their harmful lead pipes, giving notice that it will support a tough rule approved under the Biden administration to reduce lead in drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court in Washington that it would defend the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in three decades against a court challenge by a utility industry association.

The Trump administration has typically favored rapid deregulation, including reducing or killing rules on air and water pollution. On Friday, for example, it repealed tight limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal plants. But the agency has taken a different approach to drinking water.

“After intensive stakeholder involvement, EPA concluded that the only way to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act’s mandate to prevent anticipated adverse health effects ‘to the extent feasible’ is to require replacement of lead service lines,” the agency’s court filing said.

Doing so by a 10-year deadline is feasible, the agency added, supporting a rule that was based in part of the finding that old rules that relied on chemical treatment and monitoring to reduce lead “failed to prevent system-wide lead contamination and widespread adverse health effects.”

The EPA said in August it planned to defend the Biden administration’s aggressive rule, but added that it would also “develop new tools and information to support practical implementation flexibilities and regulatory clarity.” Some environmental activists worried that that meant the EPA was looking to create loopholes.

Lead, a heavy metal once common in products like pipes and paints, is a neurotoxin that can stunt children’s development, lower IQ scores and increase blood pressure in adults. Lead pipes can corrode and contaminate drinking water. The previous Trump administration’s rule had looser standards and did not mandate the replacement of all pipes.

Standards aimed at protecting kids

The Biden administration finalized its lead-in-water overhaul in 2024. It mandated that utilities act to combat lead in water at lower concentrations, with just 10 parts per billion as a trigger, down from 15. If higher levels were found, water systems had to inform their consumers, take immediate action to reduce lead and work to replace lead pipes that are commonly the main source of lead in drinking water.

The Biden administration at the time estimated the stricter standards would protect up to 900,000 infants from having low birth weight and avoid up to 1,500 premature deaths a year from heart disease.

“People power and years of lead-contaminated communities fighting to clean up tap water have made it a third rail to oppose rules to protect our health from the scourge of toxic lead. Maybe only a hidebound water utility trade group is willing to attack this basic public health measure,” said Erik Olson, senior director at the Natural Resource Defense Council, an environmental nonprofit.

The American Water Works Association, a utility industry association, had challenged the rule in court, arguing the EPA lacks authority to regulate the portion of the pipe that’s on private property and therefore cannot require water systems to replace them.

The agency countered on Friday that utilities can be required to replace the entire lead pipe because they have sufficient control over them.

The AWWA also said the 10-year deadline wasn’t feasible, noting it’s hard to find enough labor to do the work and water utilities face other significant infrastructure challenges simultaneously. Water utilities were given three years to prepare before the 10-year timeframe starts and some cities with a lot of lead were given longer.

The agency said they looked closely at data from dozens of water utilities and concluded that the vast majority could replace their lead pipes in 10 years or less.

Replacing decades-old standards

The original lead and copper rule for drinking water was enacted by the EPA more than 30 years ago. The rules have significantly reduced lead in water but have been criticized for letting cities move too slowly when levels rose too high.

Lead pipes are most commonly found in older, industrial parts of the country, including major cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee. The rule also revises the way lead amounts are measured, which could significantly expand the number of communities found violating the rules.

The EPA under President Donald Trump has celebrated deregulation. Officials have sought to slash climate change programs and promote fossil fuel development. On drinking water issues, however, their initial actions have been more nuanced.

In March, for example, the EPA announced plans to partially roll back rules to reduce so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water — the other major Biden-era tap water protection. That change sought to keep tough limits for some common PFAS, but also proposed scrapping and reconsidering standards for other types and extending deadlines.

PFAS and lead pipes are both costly threats to safe water. There are some federal funds to help communities.

The Biden administration estimated about 9 million lead pipes provide water to homes and businesses in the United States. The Trump administration updated the analysis and now projects there are roughly 4 million lead pipes. Changes in methodology, including assuming that communities that did not submit data did not have lead pipes, resulted in the significant shift. The new estimate does correct odd results from some states — activists said that the agency’s initial assumptions for Florida, for example, seemed far too high.

The EPA did not immediately return a request for comment. The AWWA pointed to their previous court filing when asked for comment.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and JESSE BEDAYN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly released records show a U.S. citizen was shot and killed in Texas by a federal immigration agent last year during a late-night traffic encounter that was not publicly disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security.

The death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, would mark the earliest of at least six deadly shootings by federal officers since the start of a nationwide immigration crackdown in President Donald Trump’s second term. On Friday, DHS said the shooting on South Padre Island last March occurred after the driver intentionally struck an agent.

The shooting involved a Homeland Security Investigations team that was conducting an immigration enforcement operation in conjunction with local police, according to documents obtained by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Washington.

The records are part of a tranche of heavily redacted internal documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the nonprofit obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Though Martinez’s death on March 15, 2025, was reported by local media outlets at the time, federal and state authorities did not disclose that the shooting involved the team from HSI. In a statement Friday, DHS said the driver who was killed “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent,” resulting in another agent firing “defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.”

The department did not respond to questions about why it had made no media release or other public notification of the officer-involved shooting over the last 11 months.

Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, said her son was just days past his 23rd birthday when he and his best friend drove from San Antonio down to the beach for the weekend to celebrate. South Padre Island, located on the Gulf Coast just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, is a renowned spring break destination that attracts tens of thousands of college-aged partiers each March.

Martinez worked at an Amazon warehouse, liked to play video games and hang out with friends. His mother said he had never had any prior run-ins with law enforcement.

“He was a typical young guy,” Reyes told The Associated Press. “He never really got a chance to go out and experience things. It was his first time getting to go out of town. He was a nice guy, humble guy. And he wasn’t a violent person at all.”

Records show federal agents were assisting police

According to an internal two-page ICE incident report included in the newly disclosed documents, shortly after midnight, HSI officers were assisting South Padre Island police by redirecting traffic through a busy intersection after a vehicle accident with several injuries.

A blue, four-door Ford with a driver and passenger approached the officers, who ordered the driver to stop. The report does not say why. Initially, the driver didn’t respond to commands but did eventually come to a stop, according to the report.

Agents then surrounded the vehicle, telling those inside to get out, but the driver “accelerated forward” and struck an HSI special agent “who wound up on the hood of the vehicle,” the report said. An HSI supervisory special agent standing by the side of the car then fired his weapon multiple times through the open driver’s side window, and the vehicle stopped.

Paramedics already on the scene of the accident quickly provided medical aid and the driver was taken by ambulance to a regional hospital in Brownsville, where he was pronounced dead, according to the report. The passenger, also a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody.

The HSI officer who the report says was struck by the vehicle was treated for an unspecified knee injury at a nearby hospital and released.

The names of the two HSI agents involved in the shooting and the names of the two men in the car were all redacted from the ICE report, but Reyes confirmed the dead driver was her son. She said he was shot three times.

State investigation into shooting is still ‘active’

The report says the Texas Rangers responded to the shooting scene and took the lead as the primary agency investigating the shooting.

Reyes said she first learned her son had been shot by a federal agent, rather than a local police officer, about a week after he was killed. She was contacted by an investigator from the Rangers who she said told her there were videos of the shooting that contradicted the account provided by federal agents. DHS did not immediately respond to an email Friday about the claim that there is video showing a different account.

She said she was told by the investigator that the state report into the shooting was completed in October and that the case would be presented to a grand jury for potential criminal charges.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, which includes the Rangers, said in a statement Friday that the investigation into the shooting is still “active” and declined to offer more information.

Messages left with the office of Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz, an elected Democrat whose jurisdiction includes South Padre Island, received no response Friday. South Padre Island Police Chief Claudine O’Carroll also did not respond to requests for comment.

Attorneys for the family said Friday they have spent the past year pursuing accountability and transparency.

“It is critical that there is a full and fair investigation into why HSI was present at the scene of a traffic collision and why a federal officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen as he was trying to comply with instructions from the local law enforcement officers directing traffic,” attorneys Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm said in a statement.

Agents involved were part of a border task force

According to the ICE report, the HSI agents involved in the shooting were part of a maritime border enforcement security task force typically focused on combating transnational criminal organizations at seaports. Over the last year, however, officers from across multiple federal agencies have been reassigned to prioritize immigration enforcement.

In January, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis, was killed in the driver’s seat of her SUV by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. Trump administration officials initially attempted to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist” who tried to ram officers with her vehicle before multiple videos emerged of the incident that cast doubt on the government’s narrative.

As in the Good case, experts in police training and tactics questioned why a federal officer apparently positioned himself in front of Martinez’s vehicle.

“You don’t stand in front of the car, you don’t put yourself in harm’s way,” said Geoffrey Alpert, a police use-of-force expert at the University of South Carolina. He added that there’s never a scenario where it’s justified, “because you don’t know whether this person is going to flee, and if he flees, you could be dead.”

Alpert said investigators will likely review any available body camera video or other footage to examine how swiftly Martinez moved the car forward, if he merely took his foot off the break or pressed down hard on the accelerator.

Martinez’s mother said she didn’t believe he would ever intentionally assault a law enforcement officer.

“They didn’t give him a chance,” Reyes said. “It’s so excessive. They could have done anything else besides that. It’s like they shoot first and ask questions later.”

Bedayn reported from Denver.

By Ansar Khan, Tribune News Service

DETROIT – Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat played youth hockey with Megan Keller while growing up in Farmington Hills and saw at an early age how good she was.

“She was one of the best players on our team,” DeBrincat said.

Keller, who went to North Farmington High School and played basketball and softball in addition to hockey, grew up to be one of the best players on her women’s teams and on Thursday scored in overtime to lift the United States past Canada 2-1 for the Olympic gold medal, capping a dominant run for Team USA.

“Really happy for her,” DeBrincat said. “I was tuned into that. I was pretty pumped, so it’s awesome. This is her third Olympics, and she’s already got two gold (medals), so definitely cool for her and we’re excited for them.”

DeBrincat and Keller played together for a few years around ages 8-10 when girls played on boys teams. He is a close friend of Keller’s brother, Ryan, who plays for the Utah Mammoth.

“Definitely cool to see her career and what she’s been able to do,” DeBrincat said. “She’s a big spokesperson for the women’s hockey community, really growing the game and one of those faces that has really taken the game to the next level.”

Todd McLellan’s oldest son, Tyson, also played with Keller as a youth.

“I think of where she was and watching her do what she did yesterday is really remarkable,” McLellan said. “She was one of the better players on that boys team.

“Like a lot of the dads, you go out and help in practice and stuff, and she was committed and you could see she was not by any means out of place and a lot of times leading the way.”

Keller, 29, tied for the team lead with nine points (three goals, six assists). The U.S. went 7-0, outscoring opponents 33-2.

“It was pretty crazy to see they only let up two goals the whole tournament,” DeBrincat said. “For a minute there, I thought they were going to lose giving up two goals the whole tournament. Obviously, Canada looked good, too, but I think the U.S. right now is probably on the next level.”

McLellan noted how far women’s hockey has come over the past couple of decades.

“I think the athletes are exceptional,” McLellan said. “They’ve just gotten so much better than they were in the past and it’s great they’re getting the support they get.”

©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By RIO YAMAT

The ability of federal safety regulators to oversee airplane maintenance at United Airlines has been hindered by inadequate staffing, high employee turnover and the improper use of virtual inspections instead of on-site reviews in some cases, according to a government watchdog audit released Friday.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general said the Federal Aviation Administration lacks sufficient staffing and workforce planning to effectively monitor United’s large fleet. Past audits by the government watchdog also highlighted FAA challenges overseeing other airline maintenance programs, including at American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Allegiant Air.

The FAA declined to comment on the findings but referred The Associated Press to a letter it sent the inspector general’s office that was included in the audit report. In it, the FAA said it agreed with most of the recommendations and was taking steps to address them by the end of the year.

“FAA will implement a more systemic approach to strengthen inspector capacity and will take other measures to ensure that staffing levels remain sufficient to meet surveillance requirements,” the letter said.

The recommendations included a reevaluation of staffing rules, an independent workplace survey of inspector workloads and office culture, and improved training on accessing and using United’s safety data — a current gap that the report said currently keeps inspectors from fully evaluating maintenance issues and safety risk trends.

In a statement to AP, United said it works closely with the FAA on a daily basis in addition to employing its own internal safety management system.

“United has long advocated in favor of providing the FAA with the resources it needs for its important work,” the carrier said.

The inspector general’s office said the audit was conducted between May 2024 and December 2025, amid a series of maintenance-linked incidents at United.

It found that the FAA sometimes had its personnel conduct inspections “virtually” when it lacked staffing or funding for travel even though agency policy requires postponing reviews that can’t be done on site. Doing the work remotely can create safety risks because inspectors may miss or misidentify maintenance problems, the reported stated.

“Inspectors we spoke with stated that their front-line managers instructed them to perform inspections virtually rather than postponing inspections,” the report said.

The audit also found that ongoing staffing shortages at the FAA inspection offices tasked with United’s oversight have resulted in fewer inspections being conducted, limited surveillance of the carrier’s maintenance operations and an “overall loss of institutional knowledge.”

In March 2024, passengers had to be evacuated from a United plane that rolled off a runway after landing in Houston. The next day, a United jetliner bound for Japan lost a tire while taking off from San Francisco but later landed safely in Los Angeles.

In December 2025, a United flight experienced an engine failure during takeoff from Dulles International Airport before safely returning to the airport.

Associated Press writer Josh Funk contributed.

By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The next time you see a senior citizen barreling down the mountain, maybe doing a double-cork while he’s at it, don’t think twice. That might just be your neighborhood’s friendly new Olympic champion.

Alex Ferreira, the freeskier who occasionally dons prosthetics to look 80 and calls his alter ego “Hotdog Hans” when he’s not kicking butt in the halfpipe, added a gold medal Friday night to the silver and bronze he’d won at the last two games to “finish the rainbow,” as his mother said.

The 31-year-old, a longtime fixture on the slopes and in the schools and rec centers in Aspen, Colorado, also put America in the win column for the first time in two weeks of halfpipe, slopestyle and big air action at the Livigno Snow Park.

“I’m going to drink copious amounts of beer,” Ferreira said when asked how he would celebrate.

He’s fun like that. This was a popular victory all across the park, squeezed out of a tight, brutal, all-night battle with Estonia’s Henry Sildaru — who skis slopestyle and big air, too, just like Eileen Gu — and Canada’s Brendan Mackay.

Bedlam and tears broke out in the stands after Mackay laid down the night’s last run, a solid one, but came up 2.75 points short of Ferreira’s winning score: 93.75.

When the Canadian’s mark came up, Ferreira bent to one knee and flashed a smile that lit up the mountain.

“Best moment of my life,” he said.

Asked what the best thing about the new gold medalist was, Mackay said there was too much to list.

“But honestly, the biggest thing that stands out about Alex, is that he is just an incredibly nice guy,” he said.

Among those near the medal stand to congratulate Ferreira was two-time Olympic titlist David Wise, who made the trip despite not making the Olympic team. He was ranked eighth in the world in halfpipe this season — a true sign of how deep the American team runs.

Also sharing hugs was Nick Goepper, the American three-time medalist in slopestyle who switched to the halfpipe in search of his first gold.

In the evening’s most visceral sign of what this contest really meant, Goepper threw caution to the wind on his last run and flung his body high above the halfpipe, his back slamming wickedly on the deck before he bounced to the bottom of the pipe.

He was lucky to walk away from that — not as fortunate that Mackay’s 91 on the last run of the night bumped him from third to fourth by a scant 2 points.

“To go for it in that moment took serious guts,” Ferreira said. “He is a real man.”

Drama involving Hess extended beyond the halfpipe

Clutch skiing and huge crashes were only part of the drama that played out among these halfpipe riders. The show started two weeks earlier.

American Hunter Hess opened the morning’s qualifying by landing a good run, then putting his thumb and forefinger in the shape of an “L,” in a nod to the eruption that occurred Feb. 8 when President Donald Trump called Hess a “total Loser,” in response to Hess’ saying “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

“I had a week that was pretty challenging,” Hess said after qualifying, speaking of the threats and vitriol lobbed his way after the president weighed in. He finished 10th in the final and did not stop for interviews.

Ferreira fills in the final missing piece to a fantastic career

Ferreira, not surprisingly, spent the entire aftermath of the contest smiling. There’s more to come.

He has already shot six episodes of his YouTube streamer “Hotdog Hans,” an entertaining trip to the mountain in which the 80-something daredevil does truck-driver grabs and 1080s in front of unsuspecting resort goers who cannot believe their eyes.

“Just trying to bring some humor and funniness to the world,” he explained.

In between the fun and games lies a more serious pursuit.

Ferreira went 7 for 7 in World Cup events in 2024 — the sort of undefeated streak that really doesn’t happen much in sports, especially not in this one, where talent, like the medals, are spread very evenly across the United States, Canada, Estonia — the world.

Those sort of streaks, in Olympic off-years, can sometimes leave a guy wondering.

“You don’t want to peak two years before the Games,” said Gus Kenworthy, the 2014 slopestyle silver medalist who finished sixth in this one. “But I’m stoked for him that it worked out tonight. It was one of the best runs I’ve seen him do in a long time, maybe ever, and I’m happy.”

When Ferreira’s skis smacked down lightly on the fifth of five butter-smooth landings in the contest winner, he started whipping around his right ski pole — his signature move in what now goes down as his signature win.

A few minutes later, his sisters and parents were crying and he was on the top step of the podium, singing out loud as the “Star-Spangled Banner” played for the first time at the Livigno Snow Park.

He used to be the best freeskier in the world without an Olympic title. Not anymore.

“He had the silver, the bronze and he needed the gold,” said Alex’s mother, Colleen Ferreira. “He was driven. A year ago, he said he was going to do this, and he did it.”

---

AP Sports Writer Joseph Wilson contributed.

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

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

MILAN (AP) — The much-anticipated but never guaranteed U.S.-Canada showdown for gold in men’s hockey at the Olympics is on.

Jack Hughes scored two goals, including one with a highlight-reel individual effort, and the Americans rolled into the final by routing Slovakia 6-2 in the semifinals on Friday night.

They’ll meet tournament favorite and top-seeded Canada on Sunday for the title, a year since the North American rivals played two memorable games against each other at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

That NHL-run event ended a drought of nearly a decade without an international tournament featuring the best hockey players in the world. Three fights in the first nine seconds in the first meeting put the 4 Nations in the spotlight, and their epic final won by Canada in overtime only built the anticipation for the Olympics.

After Canada did its part by rallying to beat Finland earlier in the day, the U.S. had no trouble against the Slovaks, who made an improbable run and were simply overmatched. They’ll face the Finns for bronze on Saturday night, looking for just the second hockey medal in the country’s history after getting the first with a third-place finish in Beijing in 2022.

The U.S. is playing for gold after the semifinals were a much easier go than the quarterfinals against Sweden, when overtime was needed to survive a scare. Dylan Larkin (Waterford), Tage Thompson, Hughes and Eichel scored the four goals on 23 shots that chased Samuel Hlavaj out of Slovakia’s net past the midway point of the second period.

Thompson, one of just a handful of newcomers who did not play at the 4 Nations, exited later in the second after blocking a shot. He was held out the rest of the way, according to the NBC broadcast.

Hughes got his second just after a power play expired, and Brady Tkachuk scored on a breakaway with just over nine minutes left to provide some more breathing room.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Twp./Walled Lake Northern) his job as his teammates outshot Slovakia by a substantial margin. Everything he has done at the Olympics has validated coach Mike Sullivan’s decision to go with Hellebuyck as the U.S. starter over Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman.

The U.S. last reached the final in 2010 when it lost to Canada in overtime on Sidney Crosby’s famous golden goal. Crosby’s status is uncertain this time after getting injured in the quarterfinals Wednesday and not playing Friday against Finland.

— By STEPHEN WHYNO, Associated Press

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The federal government is asking a court to “run roughshod” over the First Amendment after seizing electronic devices from a Washington Post reporter’s Virginia home last month, an attorney for the newspaper argued Friday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter didn’t rule from the bench on the newspaper’s request for an order requiring authorities to return the devices taken from the Virginia home of Post reporter Hannah Natanson. Porter had authorized the search by FBI agents investigating allegations that a Pentagon contractor illegally leaked classified information to Natanson.

Porter said he intends to issue a decision before a follow-up hearing scheduled for March 4.

“I have a pretty good sense of what I’m going to do here,” the magistrate said without elaborating.

Pentagon contractor Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones was arrested on Jan. 8 and charged with unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. Perez-Lugones is accused of taking home printouts of classified documents from his workplace and later passing them to Natanson.

Federal agents seized a phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive and a Garmin smart watch when they searched Natanson’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, on Jan. 14. Last month, Porter agreed to temporarily bar the government from reviewing any material from Natanson’s devices.

Post attorney Simon Latcovich said the information contained on Natanson’s devices could expose hundreds of confidential sources who routinely provided her with dozens, if not hundreds, of tips every day.

“Since the seizure, those sources have dried up,” he said.

If Porter intends to privately review the material contained on Natanson’s devices before deciding what can be shown to the government, Latcovich asked him to allow attorneys for the Post and the reporter to see it first so they can argue for keeping at least some of it under wraps.

Justice Department attorney Christian Dibblee said the government recognizes that Porter didn’t authorize a “fishing expedition.”

“The government does take that seriously,” he said.

The newspaper’s attorneys accused authorities of violating legal safeguards for journalists and trampling on Natanson’s First Amendment free speech rights.

Justice Department attorneys argued that the government is entitled to keep the seized material because it contains evidence in an ongoing investigation with national security implications.

The case has drawn national attention and scrutiny from press freedom advocates who say it reflects a more aggressive posture by the Justice Department toward leak investigations involving journalists.

“There is a pattern here, your honor, that this is a part of,” Latcovich said.

The case against a Royal Oak man accused of fatally shooting a maintenance worker outside an apartment complex was bound over Friday to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial.

The alleged killer, Nathaniel Rockwell, 33, faces charges of first-degree premeditated murder and three firearms-related crimes in connection with the July 31, 2025 fatal shooting of Gregory Hill, 65, of Southfield. The case was advanced after Rockwell waived his right to a preliminary exam in 44th District Court.

According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, prior to the shooting, Rockwell — a tenant at the Devon Park apartment complex — received an eviction notice due to multiple incidents with firearms. He allegedly confronted building management and another tenant who had reported him, got into an argument and then retrieved a gun from his vehicle and began firing at Hill. Hill was shot approximately 11 times at close range, the prosecutor’s office said.

Hill was working at the time of the shooting, the prosecutor’s office said.

As stated in his obituary, Hill was a General Motors retiree who continued working as a part-time maintenance worker at apartment complexes. “Known as everyone’s mechanic and go-to handyman, Gregory’s hard working spirit and skillful hands touched the lives of many….Those who knew him will remember his discipline, unwavering consideration for others, and steadfast reliability — qualities that defined his life. He was deeply loving and dependable, connecting effortlessly with both pets and babies, who were always drawn to his warmth,” the obituary states.

Hill was married and had two daughters.

Rockwell is held in the Oakland County Jail, denied bond. Arraignment in the higher court is scheduled for March 2 before Judge Daniel O’Brien.

 

 

 

NOVI — Towards the end of last season, Novi head coach Chris Housey told his team after a loss to Canton, “We still control our own destiny.”

While this year’s record looks a lot different sitting at 6-15 after Monday night’s 48-42 defeat to Plymouth, the message is eerily similar.

“I just told them that next week everybody is 0-0,” Housey said. “We have to get ready to go. Playoffs are a new birth, a new beginning for everybody. We have to learn from the mistakes we made but not dwell on them and get ready to go next Monday.”

It has been a difficult year for the Novi Wildcats coming off a 19-5 record, a KLAA West title, and a KLAA Championship by way of a victory over Wayne Memorial in the league championship last winter. While they are still a senior dominated team, only two of the seven played significant time last season. The losses by way of graduation have been tough to overcome.

Novi made it a challenge when it was the visitor of the two Wildcats a couple weeks ago, forcing overtime before losing in Plymouth, 50-42, but there was no bonus basketball in the rematch despite a few closely contested quarters.

The first quarter saw Plymouth come out strong and quickly build a 12-8 lead by its conclusion. As the game went on, Novi began to come together and managed to pull within a single point of Plymouth headed into halftime at 20-19.

After intermission, Novi continued to push Plymouth (8-13, 6-8 KLAA West), trading the lead back and forth before eventually knotting things up 36-36 at the end of the third quarter on a breakaway dunk. But that was as close as it would get the rest of the night as Plymouth took the lead at the start of the fourth quarter and never looked back.

“The last few minutes we made some mistakes, had some turnovers,” Housey said. “We had some good looks all night that we missed that would have changed momentum. We can’t dwell on that, and we have to keep fighting, go back down and play defense.”

In regards to how Monday’s loss is reflective of others this year, Housey explained, “We have to keep going, keep fighting, and we are almost there. We’ve just got to now focus in and lock up, fix those little things. I feel like 80 to 90% of it has gotten better, and as you know with anything, it is that last 10 to 20% that is often the toughest.”

Photos of Novi vs. Plymouth in a KLAA West boys basketball contest

“I think one of the disappointing things for us tonight, when we did put ourselves in great positions to make shots, we couldn’t make them. You miss four or five layups in a game that you lose by six, that makes the difference.”

Novi’s attack on the night was incredibly balanced with nine out of the 10 players who saw action getting into the scoring column. The hosts, 3-11 in the league, were led by Drelen Lillard, who finished with nine points, and sophomore Bladen White, who picked up seven.

The majority of Plymouth's scoring came from Chayse Calvin, who recorded 13 points and Isaiah Hooks, who dropped in nine.

In addition to the seniors who have that championship experience from last year, Housey has some talented underclassmen that he is working into the mix. “We have two sophomores up, one of them started tonight, Trent McGowan," he said. "He played really well tonight, probably his best game of the year. It has been a balance, though.”

When asked about how he balances staying true to his seniors and getting the underclassmen the work they need, Housey replied, “Sometimes we play those guys together (the four underclassmen), sometimes we mix them with the seniors, but they are going at each other in practice every day, learning and getting better. I am proud of them and proud of the work they have put in and they are getting better as the year is going on.”

Both teams finish the regular season on Thursday night as Livonia Churchill will travel to Novi and Westland John Glenn will visit Plymouth in the KLAA crossover games.

For the playoffs, Novi’s draw will be Northville, who the Wildcats have played twice and split those games with, the most recent being a 60-36 loss on February 13. Despite that lopsided score line, Novi won the initial meeting with the Mustangs in OT, 54-45.

“We started off relatively inexperienced," Housey said. "At the beginning of the year, it was gaining that experience of being varsity basketball players, learning what it takes to do all the stuff that is required to win at this level and in this league, and that is really tough. Now, as the season grinds on, we have gotten better. Our record may not show it, but we have gotten a lot better as a group, and we are starting to come together.”

Novi fell just short in a 48-42 loss to Plymouth on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026 in Novi.

By Ryan Zuke, Tribune News Service

Tyrone Wheatley is headed back to the Big Ten.

The former Michigan star running back was named Illinois’ running back coach on Monday – six days after he resigned as Wayne State’s head football coach.

Wheatley, 54, last coached in the Big Ten from 2015-16, when he served as the Wolverines’ running backs coach under Jim Harbaugh. The 1992 Big Ten Player of the Year has had limited success as a college head coach but has extensive experience as a running backs coach at the NFL and Power Four levels.

Wheatley went 5-28 over three seasons at Wayne State, including an 0-11 mark in 2025. As head coach at Morgan State from 2019-21, he finished with a 5-18 record. The former star athlete at Dearborn Heights Robichaud has had stints as running backs coach with the Denver Broncos (2022), Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-18), Michigan, Buffalo Bills (2013-14), Syracuse (2010-12) and Eastern Michigan (2009).

“Coach Wheatley is an accomplished coach with proven success in both the NFL and college football,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said in a statement. “Our program will benefit immediately from his experience as a running backs coach and head coach. He has been an outstanding player and coach in the Big Ten and has developed some of the top running backs in football. We are excited to welcome Coach Wheatley to Champaign.”

Wheatley helped mentor several high-profile running backs such as Leonard Fournette (Jaguars), Latavius Murray (Broncos), Melvin Gordon (Broncos), C.J. Spiller (Bills), and Fred Jackson (Bills).

In 2016 at Michigan, the Wolverines led the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns with 41 and ranked second in the conference with 212.9 rushing yards per game.

“I want to sincerely thank Coach Bielema for his trust, belief, and invitation to join his staff,” Wheatley said in a statement. “Coach Bielema has built a culture defined by toughness, discipline, and accountability. To coach under a leader with his experience, vision, and championship pedigree is an absolute honor. To the Illini community, alumni, players, and fans, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. I look forward to getting to work.”

As a player for Michigan, he totaled 4,187 rushing yards, 510 receiving yards and 53 touchdowns during his career and was named to three consecutive all-Big Ten teams. Illinois is slated to play Michigan in 2027.

©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The fifth weekly statewide Michigan Sports Writers (formerly Associated Press) prep girls basketball rankings, as compiled from the votes of various media members from around the Mitten for the week of Feb. 16, 2026.

The top 10 teams in the Michigan high school basketball poll, with records in parentheses. Totals are based on 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for second, etc.:

 

DIVISION 1

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. Belleville (19-0) (5) 50

2 (tie). Rockford (16-1) 42

2 (tie). Wayne Memorial (15-2) 42

4. Detroit Renaissance (15-2) 31

5. Howell (19-1) 29

6. Muskegon (14-2) 25

7. Grand Haven (15-2) 24

8. South Lyon East (18-0) 11

9. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (15-3) 9

10. Saginaw Heritage (14-5) 6

Others receiving votes: 11. Utica Eisenhower 3; 12. Livonia Stevenson 2; 13. Midland 1.

DIVISION 2

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. Grand Rapids South Christian (18-0) (4) 40

2. Goodrich (19-0) 36

3. Tecumseh (17-2) 32

4. Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (17-0) 23

5. Flint Powers (17-2) 21

6. Grand Rapids West Catholic (14-4) 19

7. Haslett (15-2) 17

8. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (16-2) 14

9. Otsego (14-1) 9

10. Negaunee (17-1) 8

Others receiving votes: None

 

DIVISION 3

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. McBain (2) (17-0) 45

2. Jackson Lumen Christi (2) (15-2) 44

3. Niles Brandywine (1) (17-1) 42

4. Blissfield (15-2) 29

5. Pewamo-Westphalia (14-2) 27

6. Grass Lake (16-1) 24

7. Hemlock (17-1) 12

8. Kalamazoo Hackett (14-3) 9

9 (tie). Harbor Springs (17-1) 8

9 (tie). Cass City (12-4) 8

Others receiving votes: 11. Kalamazoo Christian 6; 11 (tie) Shelby 6; 13. Beaverton 5; 14. Sandusky 4; 15. Caro 3; 16. Saugatuck 2; 17. New Lothrop 1.

 

DIVISION 4

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. Concord (17-1) (2) 45

2. Morenci (17-1) (1) 43

3. Mio (14-4) 31

4. Kingston (18-0) (1) 28

5. Gaylord St. Mary (17-1) 28

6. Ewen-Trout Creek (15-2) (1) 27

7. Ishpeming (15-2) 27

8. Au Gres-Sims (16-2) 20

9. L’Anse (15-2) 9

10. Indian River Inland Lakes (16-2) 5

10. Frankfort (11-5) 5

Others receiving votes: 12. Munising 3; 13. Adrian Lenawee Christian 3; 14. Baraga 1.

The sixth weekly statewide Michigan Sports Writers (formerly Associated Press) prep boys basketball rankings, as compiled from the votes of various media members from around the Mitten for the week of Feb. 16, 2026.

The top 10 teams in the Michigan high school basketball poll, with records in parentheses. Totals are based on 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for second, etc.:

 

DIVISION 1

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. East Lansing (19-1) (5) 50

2. East Kentwood (17-2) 45

3. Rockford (17-3) 38

4. Auburn Hills Avondale (20-1) 32

5. Grand Blanc (17-3) 23

6. Muskegon (16-2) 22

7. Grand Rapids Northview (16-4) 16

8 (tie). Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (15-5) 12

8 (tie). Kalamazoo Central (16-2) 12

10. Detroit Martin Luther King (17-4) 11

Others receiving votes: 11. Wayne Memorial 7; 12. Rochester 4; 13. Hudsonville 2; 14. Saginaw Heritage 1.

DIVISION 2

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. Romulus Summit North (21-1) (4) 40

2. Lansing Sexton (19-2) 35

3. Freeland (17-3) 29

4. Frankenmuth (18-1) 27

5. Hudsonville Unity Christian (17-3) 26

6. Grand Rapids South Christian (17-2) 23

7. Dearborn Divine Child (18-2) 15

8. Ludington (19-1) 11

9. Gladwin (19-1) 4

10. (tie) Grant (20-0) 3

10. (tie) Benton Harbor 3

Others receiving votes: 12. Fruitport 2; 13. South Haven 1; 13. Chelsea 1.

 

DIVISION 3

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. McBain (3) (17-1) 38

2. Menominee (16-4) 35

3 (tie). Beal City (17-2) 34

3 (tie). Pewamo-Westphalia (17-2) 34

3 (tie). Niles Brandywine (2) (15-4) 34

6. Ishpeming-Westwood (19-1) 25

7. Harbor Beach (17-2) 22

7 (tie). Detroit Loyola (17-4) 22

9. North Muskegon (21-1) 14

10. Onsted (18-2) 11

Others receiving votes: 11. Arts & Tech Academy of Pontiac 5; 12. Springport 1.

 

DIVISION 4

Rank, School (Record) Points

1. Fowler (18-2) (2) 47

2. Pickford (20-0) 38

3. Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian (17-1) (2) 35

4. Traverse City Christian (20-0) (1) 34

5. Crystal Falls Forest Park (16-3) 30

6. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (18-3) 28

7. Concord (16-4) 18

8. Dollar Bay (17-2) 15

9. Hillsdale Academy (18-2) 11

10. Genesee Christian (16-4) 5

Others receiving votes: 11. Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian (15-4) 4; 12. Felch North Dickinson (16-3) 4; 13. Mendon 3; 14. Southfield Christian (16-5) 2.

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

An exhibit about nine people enslaved by George Washington must be restored at his former home in Philadelphia after President Donald Trump’s administration took it down last month, a federal judge ruled on Presidents Day, the federal holiday honoring Washington’s legacy.

The city of Philadelphia sued in January after the National Park Service removed the explanatory panels from Independence National Historical Park, the site where George and Martha Washington lived with nine of their slaves in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital.

The removal came in response to a Trump executive order “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks. It directed the Interior Department to ensure those sites do not display elements that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe ruled Monday that all materials must be restored in their original condition while a lawsuit challenging the removal’s legality plays out. She prohibited Trump officials from installing replacements that explain the history differently.

Rufe, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, began her written order with a quote from George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” and compared the Trump administration to the book’s totalitarian regime called the Ministry of Truth, which revised historical records to align with its own narrative.

“As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 now existed, with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims — to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts,” Rufe wrote. “It does not.”

She had warned Justice Department lawyers during a January hearing that they were making “dangerous” and “horrifying” statements when they said Trump officials can choose which parts of U.S. history to display at National Park Service sites.

The Interior Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling, which came while government offices were closed for the federal holiday.

The judge did not provide a timeline for when the exhibit must be restored. Federal officials can appeal the ruling.

The historical site is among several where the administration has quietly removed content about the history of enslaved people, LGBTQ+ people and Native Americans.

Signage that has disappeared from Grand Canyon National Park said settlers pushed Native American tribes “off their land” for the park to be established and “exploited” the landscape for mining and grazing.

Last week, a rainbow flag was taken down at the Stonewall National Monument, where bar patrons rebelled against a police raid and catalyzed the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The administration has also removed references to transgender people from its webpage about the monument, despite several trans women of color being key figures in the uprising.

The Philadelphia exhibit, created two decades ago in a partnership between the city and federal officials, included biographical details about each of the nine people enslaved by the Washingtons at the home, including two who escaped.

Among them was Oney Judge, who was born into slavery at the family’s plantation in Mount Vernon, Virginia, and later escaped from their Philadelphia house in 1796. Judge fled north to New Hampshire, a free state, while Washington had her declared a fugitive and published advertisements seeking her return.

Because Judge had escaped from the Philadelphia house, the park service in 2022 supported the site’s inclusion in a national network of Underground Railroad sites where they would teach about abolitionists and escaped slaves. Rufe noted that materials about Judge were among those removed, which she said “conceals crucial information linking the site to the Network to Freedom.”

Only the names of Judge and the other eight enslaved people — Austin, Paris, Hercules, Richmond, Giles, Moll and Joe, who each had a single name, and Christopher Sheels — remained engraved in a cement wall after park service employees took a crowbar to the plaques on Jan. 22.

Hercules also escaped in 1797 after he was brought to Mount Vernon, where the Washingtons had many other slaves. He reached New York City despite being declared a fugitive slave and lived under the name Hercules Posey.

Several local politicians and Black community leaders celebrated the ruling, which came while many were out rallying at the site for its restoration.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Philadelphia Democrat, said the community prevailed against an attempt by the Trump administration to “whitewash our history.”

“Philadelphians fought back, and I could not be more proud of how we stood together,” he said.

By JULIA FRANKEL

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The curling drama at the Winter Olympics sent the sport’s governing body scrambling to address a growing controversy and curb conflicting accounts of rule-breaking. The backpedaling came less than 24 hours later.

A day after World Curling ramped up monitoring of the matches, it pulled the plug, saying umpires would retreat and be available on request but not by default.

The move came after a quick meeting between national curling federations and World Curling on Sunday in which curlers expressed dissatisfaction with the increased surveillance. Athletes wanted less monitoring, not more.

Why would Olympic curlers, playing a sport where mere centimeters can make the difference between a winning and losing stone, choose to send the umps away? The answer may have to do with the longstanding spirit of the game, which some athletes are clinging to even as it grows more popular — and professional.

“I think there’s a lot of pride in trying to be a sport that kind of officiates ourselves a little bit, so to speak,” said Nolan Thiessen, CEO of Curling Canada, whose teams have been at the heart of the uproar over the past several days. “I think it was just everybody taking a deep breath and going, OK, let’s just finish this Olympics the way we know our sport is to be played.”

World Curling rethinks officiating

The saga began Friday, when Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice. Kennedy’s expletive-laden outburst drew widespread attention, as did the sport, which tends to fall off the radar outside the Olympics.

World Curling decided it needed to double down on game surveillance, even though it was already midway through the Olympic men’s and women’s round-robin competition.

From then on, the federation said, two umpires would step out from behind the courtside table and watch the “hog line” — the point at which curlers must release the granite stone down the sheet of ice — from close proximity. That way, they’d be able to more closely check for illegal double-touches.

In just a day, officials called two double-touch infractions, by Rachel Homan of Canada and Bobby Lammie of Britain, removing their stones from play.

It is rare for stones to be removed from competition so frequently.

By Sunday afternoon, players and coaches were fed up, and World Curling changed its policy after the meeting.

“When the players started complaining, it puts them in a tough position because they want to do their jobs and listen to the players that think that there’s a problem out there,” said Emma Miskew of Canada. “I’m happy with how the discussion went and what the ruling came to.”

Olympic curlers say the double-touch is not a big deal

Several Olympic curlers said that double-touching did not necessarily reveal a nefarious desire to cheat, and that penalizing a quick and accidental graze of the granite could be over the top.

“If you get a hog line violation, it’s not cheating,” Homan said Monday.

Miskew added that it was rare to hear the accusation, at least in women’s curling, while Alina Paetz of Switzerland agreed with Homan that it is a minor infraction.

“If you do it, it’s not allowed, but I think they blew it up a little bit, so it’s a bigger thing than it actually is,” Paetz said. “It’s the Olympics, there’s emotion in it. I don’t think it is actually that big of a deal.”

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

MILAN (AP) — Aerin Frankel stopped 21 shots for her third shutout of the Olympic women’s hockey tournament and the favored United States advanced to the gold-medal game by defeating Sweden 5-0 at the Milan Cortina Games on Monday.

Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hayley Scamurra scored on consecutive shots over a 2:47 late in the second period to blow the game open and put the Americans up 5-0. Cayla Barnes opened the scoring and Taylor Heise also scored.

The Americans continued their roll through the tournament by improving to 6-0, and outscoring their opponents by a combined 31-1. The U.S. has yet to trail or be tied after 0-0, and in position to become the third women’s team to do so over the entire tournament, joining Canada in 2006 and 2010.

The U.S. also extended its shutout streak to 331 minutes, 23 seconds, going back to Czechia’s Barbora Jurickova beating Frankel on a breakaway in the second period of a tournament-opening 5-1 win.

The win over Sweden sets up what could well be a seventh gold-medal showdown against Canada on Thursday. The defending Olympic champion Canadians play Switzerland in the day’s other semifinal game.

The U.S. already beat Canada 5-0 in a preliminary round game last week. The Americans won Olympic gold in 1998 and 2018, with Canada winning the other five tournaments.

Sweden will play for bronze on Thursday in an effort to medal for the third time in team history, and first since winning silver at the 2006 Turin Games after upsetting the U.S. in the semifinals.

Ebba Svensson Traff stopped 19 of 23 shots before she was pulled after Coyne Schofield tipped in Laila Edwards’ shot from the blue line with 3:50 left in the second period.

Emma Soderberg took over in goal, and was beaten by Scamurra, who tapped in Britta Curl-Salemme’s centering pass 1:49 later. Soderberg finished with 10 saves.

Among those in attendance was former NFL center Jason Kelce, who was shown on the scoreboard applauding the goal initially credited to Edwards. Kelce is from Edwards’ hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and he and his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, contributed to a GoFundMe drive to help pay for Edwards’ family to attend the Milan Cortina Games.

Sweden enjoyed a break-through this year with a young, talented group that features seven players competing in the U.S. college ranks. Sweden went 4-0 to win Group B, and then upset Czechia 2-0 in the in the quarterfinals.

Though the Swedes kept the game close through 35 minutes, the Americans eventually wore them down.

And the U.S certainly didn’t resemble a team that didn’t want to play Sweden, as coach Ulf Lundberg suggested after the Swedes beat Czechia in the quarterfinals.

Though the Swedes kept the U.S. mostly to the perimeter in the opening period, they were still outshot 13-2.

Barnes scored with a snap shot from the top of the right circle and beat Svensson Traff high on the short side. Barnes’ goal was her first point of the tournament, leaving seventh defender Rory Guilday as the lone American skater to not yet register a point through six games.

Heise made it 2-0 at the 9:08 mark of the second period by one-timing in Hannah Bilka’s backhand pass through the middle. Svensson Traff got her glove on the shot, but the puck deflected across her body and into the net off the inside of her stick.

— By JOHN WAWROW, Associated Press

Michigan State’s 142-year-old baseball program is known more for producing individual talents like Steve Garvey, Kirk Gibson and Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts than for winning a lot of games. So the Spartans had reason to celebrate the opening weekend of the season, even though it didn’t end the way they would have liked.

They won two of three on the road against a Louisville team ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason, making it the highest-ranked series win under 18th-year coach Jake Boss Jr.

The Spartans opened with a 4-3 win Friday on Randy Seymour’s tie-breaking homer in the eighth inning. Parker Picot (Rochester Adams) hit a grand slam and three-run homer in a 14-3 victory Saturday. Louisville won Sunday’s finale 9-1.

The Spartans’ big weekend came against one of the winningest programs over the past two decades. The Cardinals went 2-2 in the College World Series last year.

MSU was 28-27 last season and finished 12th in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans haven’t been above .500 in conference play since 2016, and the most recent of their five NCAA Tournament appearances was in 2012.

Their challenging start to the season continues Friday with the first of three games at a top-10 Texas.

In the polls

The top three teams in the D1Baseball.com and Baseball America polls remained the same Monday.

UCLA (2-1) and LSU (3-0) are the top two in both polls, with Texas (3-0) third by D1Baseball and Mississippi State (3-0) third by Baseball America.

Slam man

Things quieted down considerably for Baylor’s Tyce Armstrong after he became the second player in NCAA history, and first in 50 years, to hit three grand slams in a game, doing so Friday.

The Bears completed a three-game sweep of New Mexico State with wins of 5-2 Saturday and 7-3 Sunday. Armstrong was a combined 0 for 6 with two RBIs in those games.

Armstrong was the story of opening day, launching all three of his slams to left field in a 15-2 victory. His 12 RBIs were a school record.

The only other player to hit three grand slams in a game was Louisville’s Jim LaFountain, who did it against Western Kentucky on March 24, 1976.

Tigers off and running

Defending national champion LSU opened with a three-game sweep of Milwaukee. Jake Brown highlighted Sunday’s 21-7 win with a grand slam, solo homer and a career-best six RBIs. Brown was 6 of 12 with eight RBIs in the series.

“Jake is the leader of this team, there’s no question about that,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “I’m very thankful that he is a Tiger, and I think he’s got a chance to be one of the best players in the country this year.”

Cleanup spot

Aidan King, who pitched six shutout innings, and Hawaii transfer Cooper Walls, who allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings, turned in strong starts in Florida’s 11-0, 6-1 sweep of UAB on Saturday. Gators pitchers allowed one run, walked one and struck out 13 across 16 innings. … Florida Gulf Coast’s Evan Dempsey, Preston Rogers and Ashton Pocol combined to strike out a program record-tying 19 in a 2-1, 10-inning victory over North Dakota State on Friday. … Coastal Carolina, the 2025 national runner-up, swept three games from Fairfield. Chanticleers pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts in a 5-0 win in the finale, the most in a nonconference game in five years. … Southern California’s Grant Govel and Cameron Fausset combined to hold Pepperdine hitless in a seven-inning 11-0 run-rule win Saturday. Govel went a career-long six innings, walked one, hit a batter and struck out 10.

— By ERIC OLSON, Associated Press