Category: News
Ethan MacDermot comes 10,000 miles to play for Benet. ‘We love having him here.’ They all love winning.
It has been said that 10,000 hours of practice are needed to become an expert. Ethan MacDermot was willing to travel 10,000 miles from his home in Australia to perfect his craft.
The Benet senior guard has been living with his aunt and uncle since he arrived in America in June to pursue his dream.
“My uncle thought it would be the best option to come here to play,” MacDermot said. “I want to play college basketball, so I could come here and play in front of coaches.”
Basketball is played in Australian high schools, but it’s not as big as it is in American high schools. So MacDermot heeded his uncle’s advice.
“I always knew I was coming to the States,” he said. “I was ready for it. I was excited to be in a high school setting. American high school is completely different to home, so it’s a new experience.”
Yet the 6-foot-3 MacDermot is thriving at Benet. He played with the team in a summer league, went home to Australia for a month and returned for the start of the school year.
“He just fit right in from the beginning, so he’s one of the guys,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He’s great friends with the guys on the team, so nothing but great things as far as the way he’s handled himself and the way his teammates have accepted him.”
Benet’s Ethan MacDermot (4) drives against Nazareth during an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in La Grange Park on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Troy Stolt / Naperville Sun)
Indeed, MacDermot has started every game at shooting guard for the Redwings (28-1, 7-0), who lead the East Suburban Catholic Conference, are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A in the poll by The Associated Press and are shooting to win their second consecutive state championship. He’s averaging 7.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Senior point guard Jayden Wright, an Eastern Illinois recruit, enjoys sharing the backcourt with MacDermot.
“We didn’t know he was coming until the summer,” Wright said. “He kind of just showed up, but he fit in right away. All the guys welcomed him. He’s a really good kid, so we love having him here.”
MacDermot loves being with the Redwings. He’s unfazed by the program’s high expectations.
“I fit in pretty well,” he said. “It was pretty easy. The guys like Jayden helped out a lot just welcoming me into the team. The team chemistry is great.”
The Redwings have been great, too, compiling a 449-109 record during Heidkamp’s 18-year tenure.
“It’s pretty awesome,” MacDermot said. “It’s an historical team. It’s great to be able to share these moments with these guys.”
Benet’s Ethan MacDermot (4) shoots the ball as Nazareth’s Oliver De Santiago (34) challenges the shot during an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in La Grange Park on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Troy Stolt / Naperville Sun)
This season, there have many great moments for Benet, which extended its winning streak to 25 games by beating Nazareth 64-31 in East Suburban Catholic Conference action in La Grange Park on Friday night.
MacDermot contributed 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal in less than three quarters of action. The Redwings went on a 24-2 run in the first half, and MacDermot scored eight points during that stretch.
“I thought he played well tonight,” Heidkamp said. “Offensively, he can shoot. He handles the ball well. He can create shots for his teammates.
“He’s very solid in that regard, and defensively he’s got good moxie. He gets his hands on a lot of balls. He gets some steals, he rebounds well for his size, so he brings a lot on both sides of the floor.”
MacDermot hasn’t needed to be the main man on the Redwings, which is different from his experience in Australia. Wright handles that role.
“I think he’s adjusted really well,” Wright said. “Ever since he got here, he’s continuously got better at everything. He can help us with his shooting. He can handle it. His defense is always getting better. I think all around he’s just improving a lot.”
Benet’s Ethan MacDermot, center, drives between Nazareth’s Ben Schneider, left, and Eddie Austin during an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in La Grange Park on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Troy Stolt / Naperville Sun)
That has made the move to America worthwhile for MacDermot, whose parents, Amanda and Tim, and younger siblings still live in Australia. His parents have been able to see him play for Benet.
“My mum came during Christmas time, and my dad came two weeks ago,” MacDermot said.
MacDermot is talking to several Division II and Division III colleges but is uncommitted. A trip to the state finals would give him further opportunities to showcase his skills for college coaches.
“I can play shooting guard or point guard,” he said. “I would say my shooting (is a strength) and my IQ is good.”
MacDermot likes biology and is thinking about studying environmental science in college but has no career plans yet.
“I just want to see my options,” he said. “I want to play professionally.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/benet-high-school-basketball-ethan-macdermot/
Italy Beckons The Rich: How Flat Taxes And Lifestyle Are Luring Global Millionaires
Italy Beckons The Rich: How Flat Taxes And Lifestyle Are Luring Global Millionaires
Submitted by Thomas Kolbe
Think of Italy, and wanderlust awakens immediately. Last year, over 140 million visitors experienced the beauty of the Amalfi Coast, enjoyed time at Lake Garda, in South Tyrol, Tuscany, or on the beaches of Sicily. Italy is a land of dreams with a rich cultural history, attracting those who want to experience the dolce vita in its finest form.
Italy is also a country that has drawn wealthy individuals from around the world for years. Last year alone, more than 3,600 high-net-worth individuals chose Italy as their new residence. They brought an estimated €21 billion in wealth with them – at least for tax purposes, as their investments or company holdings are usually spread across multiple countries.
What drives these wealthy newcomers may be Italian cuisine and the excellent weather, but above all, hard facts matter. Italy offers a special tax regime for the wealthy in the form of a flat tax. Incoming expats can either opt for standard domestic taxation or the so-called CR7 rule, under which wealthy newcomers previously paid a flat annual tax of €200,000 on all foreign income.
The CR7 rule, named after footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, whose now-iconic jersey bears the number seven, targets a specific class of taxpayers whose main sources of income lie abroad. It generally applies for up to 15 years and covers earnings from capital investments, image rights, licenses, foreign real estate, capital gains, or foreign inheritances.
Income from Italian domestic sources – in Ronaldo’s case, the salary from Juventus or revenues from Italian property – remains subject to standard Italian taxation. Ronaldo used this model after moving to Juve, allowing his billion-dollar wealth, largely invested abroad, to work tax-efficiently.
Italy has thus created a selective tax system designed to open doors for the global wealthy to settle in Italy, potentially establish business roots, and, later – even in the next generation – return to the regular tax system as integrated Italian citizens.
For the Italian treasury, this is a profitable arrangement. Adding ordinary consumption taxes and other routine levies, the state is estimated to have gained around €1 billion in extra revenue last year from the influx alone – without further effort. New businesses and investments from these wealthy newcomers also potentially create jobs and contribute to their local communities.
The broader tax framework is also appealing. Corporate and capital gains taxes in Italy are on average about two percent lower than in Germany. Inheritance taxation, for example, is significantly lower than in the UK, which now levies 40 percent on inheritances above £325,000, triggering an exodus of wealthy citizens.
Unsurprisingly, this preferential taxation has sparked criticism among Italians. The government of Giorgia Meloni responded by raising the flat rate from €100,000 to €200,000, and as of the start of this year, to €300,000. A flat fee of €50,000 per family member is also due. The goal seems to be defusing opposition without undermining the incentives.
Italy’s fiscal situation practically forces this approach. With public debt at roughly 135 percent of GDP, the country is cornered. Tough budget cuts accompany the government’s tax initiatives – and early results are visible.
This year, the budget deficit is expected to shrink to 2.5–2.8 percent of GDP – a notable achievement, considering other EU heavyweights like Germany and France report deficits of five to six percent.
The bond market has also responded positively. Yields on ten-year Italian government bonds have dropped from about 5 percent three years ago to roughly 3.5 percent today. The gap to German bonds – the so-called spread – is narrowing, signaling that markets view Italy’s fiscal climate as far more stable than just a few years ago, while conditions in Germany are increasingly perceived as critical.
In Rome, officials are watching Germany’s tax debates closely, where signs are emerging that Berlin might follow Norway’s 2022 example and levy a special wealth tax on the rich.
The Social Democrats, together with the united Left, are pushing for higher inheritance taxes on corporate wealth and the debated reintroduction of a wealth tax, driving their coalition partners forward. The political climate is favorable, and the Union parties appear resigned to the left’s dominance, likely to support these measures despite the precarious state of social security.
The mechanism is simple: spark a resentment-driven debate, activate the already abundant public envy, and target the wealthy. This alleviates political pressure – both on migration and on overdue welfare reforms – from the shoulders of those in charge.
Economists at the German Institute for Economic Research recently added fuel to the debate. With progressive rates of up to 12 percent for billionaires, Germany could generate roughly €150 billion in extra annual revenue.
Yet envy debates increasingly replace rational policy. This capital is not idle; it funds productive investments, company holdings, job creation, and technological advancement.
In its struggle for survival, Germany – and apparently a majority of its citizens – seems willing to consume its own productive base rather than endure a period of tough reforms and sacrifice, emerging stronger with a healthier economic foundation.
It is a fatal path, historically a civilizational rupture: for a limited time, the strong state stands at the end of a rapidly bleeding middle class, whose economic assets melt like ice in the sun. A societal climate of envy and impoverishment is the inevitable result.
South of the Alps, one can already anticipate a surge in German millionaires relocating. Germany’s political climate is increasingly hostile to enterprise and performance.
And as noted, life in Tuscany or the picturesque coastal towns of Italy offers compelling reasons to leave Germany behind. Put simply: nowhere in Italy is it as bad as in Berlin.
* * *
About the author: Thomas Kolbe, a German graduate economist, has worked for over 25 years as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 02/17/2026 – 07:20
Shein enfrenta una investigación de la UE por productos ilegales y diseño adictivo
Por KELVIN CHAN
LONDRES (AP) — Los reguladores de la Unión Europea están investigando a Shein ante las preocupaciones sobre que el minorista en línea no haya hecho lo suficiente para limitar la venta de productos ilegales o para proteger a los usuarios del diseño presuntamente adictivo de la plataforma.
La Comisión Europea, el brazo ejecutivo del bloque de 27 países informó que abrió una investigación formal el martes en virtud del amplio marco normativo del bloque conocido como la Ley de Servicios Digitales, que exige a las mayores plataformas en línea adoptar medidas adicionales para proteger a los usuarios de internet de productos cuestionables.
Shein podría verse obligada a modificar sus prácticas, o a pagar una fuerte multa si, tras una investigación exhaustiva, se adopta una llamada decisión de incumplimiento, señaló la Comisión Europea.
Un ámbito en el que se centra la investigación es si Shein cuenta con las salvaguardas adecuadas para limitar la venta de productos que son ilegales en la Unión Europea, indicó la Comisión, incluidos artículos que equivalen a material de abuso sexual infantil, como “muñecas sexuales con apariencia infantil”.
El gigante de la moda rápida fue objeto de críticas el año pasado en Francia, donde las autoridades encontraron armas ilegales —incluidas armas de fuego, cuchillos y machetes—, así como muñecas sexuales con apariencia infantil, a la venta en su sitio web. El gobierno francés intentó suspender el acceso al sitio de Shein en Francia. Un tribunal bloqueó esa medida y pidió a la Comisión que investigara en virtud de la Ley de Servicios Digitales del bloque.
La comisión afirma que también determinará si Shein dispone de sistemas para mitigar los riesgos relacionados con lo que describe como el diseño adictivo de la plataforma, que incluye otorgar a los usuarios puntos o recompensas “por la interacción”.
Los reguladores también han puesto la mira en la transparencia de los sistemas de recomendación de Shein, que sugieren más productos a los consumidores. Les preocupa que la empresa no explique con claridad a los usuarios por qué se les recomiendan productos específicos.
Shein manifestó que se toma en serio sus obligaciones y que seguirá cooperando con la comisión.
La empresa indicó que ha invertido de manera significativa en reforzar el cumplimiento de la Ley de Servicios Digitales. Las medidas incluyen “evaluaciones integrales de riesgos sistémicos y marcos de mitigación, mayores protecciones para los usuarios más jóvenes y trabajo continuo para diseñar nuestros servicios de maneras que promuevan una experiencia de usuario segura y confiable”.
La empresa afirmó en un comunicado de prensa: “Proteger a los menores y reducir el riesgo de contenidos y conductas perjudiciales son aspectos centrales de cómo desarrollamos y operamos nuestra plataforma”.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Column: Ilia Malinin isn’t the 1st star athlete to flop on the big stage — and he can turn it into a positive
Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga sat in the dugout with his head in his hand after the final out of the National League Division Series in Milwaukee.
Imanaga had blown a three-run first-inning lead while losing Game 2 of the series and was so shaky that manager Craig Counsell opted to go with a bullpen game in the win-or-else Game 5, a 3-1 Cubs loss.
“I felt like I didn’t have enough skills there,” Imanaga said afterward of Counsell’s decision, speaking through his interpreter. “Hopefully I want to (improve) my skills so I have the trust (of Counsell) to throw not necessarily short innings but give us long innings.”
The pressure of performing on the big stage can be overwhelming, but being on that stage is what every athlete dreams about.
I thought of Imanaga over the weekend after watching Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin falter with a gold medal on the line, falling twice during his free skate performance and falling from first to eighth overall.
Figure skating is not something I normally pay attention to, but Malinin came into the Olympics with so much hype, I was curious to see what made the so-called “Quad God” so godlike.
He seemed to be in every other commercial on the NBC broadcasts, and the network analysts gushed over him. Malinin even had a taped segment with Snoop Dogg, who watched his practice performance and held up 10 fingers, saying: “Perfect 10. And if I had five more hands I’d be holding them up too.”
With the Snoop Dogg seal of approval, Malinin was obviously on track to be the breakout star of the Olympics. But that didn’t happen, as we all know now. After his poor performance in the free skate, he covered his face with his gloved hands as he skated off and later told NBC’s Andrea Joyce in the postskate interview: “I blew it.”
It’s hard to watch someone see their dreams crash so hard in front of millions of viewers. But it’s something every sports fan sees multiple times every year. Whether it’s the Super Bowl, the World Series, the WNBA Finals or any other big event, some athletes come through in the clutch and some falter.
The Olympics are no different. They’re like two weeks of athletes performing in a Game 7 atmosphere. But because they’re held only once every four years, the ones who fail have a long, hard wait to get back to the spotlight, if they even make it back at all.
Former Chicago Tribune colleague Philip Hersh, a veteran figure skating expert writing for Olympics.com, asked a simple question in his column on the performance: “How do you comprehend what was likely the most thorough unraveling of an unquestionably great skater in Olympic history?”
Hersh answered with one possible theory.
“Maybe there was, in fact, too much hubris in declaring himself the ‘Quad God’ four years ago, when he had yet to win any major event,” he wrote. “Maybe the Olympian gods stored that defiance away, waiting — as in a classic Greek tragedy — to strike him down until he was on their turf. Or ice.”
Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the men’s figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Milan. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
I don’t know enough about Greek tragedies or Malinin’s personality to know if that was the case. But I’ve covered enough playoff games in various sports to know well that the greats don’t always come through in the biggest moments, which is why the term “unsung hero” is part of our sports vernacular.
Los Angeles Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw had a 4.62 ERA in 41 postseason games. Former Cubs ace Jon Lester had a 2.51 ERA in 26 postseason appearances. Some athletes just handle the pressure better than others.
“The nerves just went, so overwhelming,” Malinin said afterward. “And especially going into that starting pose, I just felt like all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head. So many negative thoughts that flooded into there and I could not handle it.”
Being a product of his generation, the 21-year-old Malinin naturally took to Instagram on Monday to elaborate on his feelings to his 1 million followers. A video of him celebrating during past triumphs was interspersed with black-and-white shots of him burying his head in his hands in defeat. It was the modern version of the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” montage that opened ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” back in the day, albeit with new-age music and without Jim McKay’s narration.
Related Articles
Bold new US trio eyes Olympic figure skating gold while serving as role models for a new generation
Connor Hellebuyck shows why he’s the US starting goalie at the Olympics
Photos: The best images from Day 10 of the 2026 Winter Olympics
2026 Winter Olympics: Meet the medalists from the United States
Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, wins her 1st Olympic gold — and 6th overall medal — in monobob
“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” Malinin wrote. “Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure. It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story.”
A graphic ended the video stating: “Coming February 21, 2026.”
That’s the date of a figure skating exhibition gala scheduled for the end of the Olympics, so we’ll have to wait a few days to see how this story continues.
Dealing with online hatred, sadly, is an obstacle many athletes face. It’s easy to say don’t look at it, but we’re all addicted to our phones.
Fortunately for Malinin, a few thousand followers praised him in the Instagram post for his sportsmanship and for being open about his mental health issues. And he still has a gold medal for the team event, which should help him overcome the darkness in due time.
A couple of weeks ago he was basically an unknown outside of figure skating fans. Now he’s famous worldwide with millions of fans, even though he lost in dramatic fashion after a buildup of Olympic proportions.
Hopefully he’ll get another shot in the French Alps Winter Games in 2030, and maybe it will make his journey that much sweeter. Malinin is not the first great athlete to spectacularly implode in his biggest moment, just the latest in a long line of them. If he recovers, he can turn his loss into something positive in the long run.
As Casey Stengel once said: “Without losers, where would the winners be?”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/olympics-ilia-malinin-falter-big-stage/
Chicago Cubs’ Matt Shaw gets ready for the outfield — while 2 players are still delayed by visa issues
MESA, Ariz. — Matt Shaw’s process for getting acclimated to playing in the outfield already involved some help from his Chicago Cubs teammate.
Ian Happ understands the challenge of being an infielder-turned-outfielder after he fully made the transition in 2020. He wants to be a resource for Shaw as the 24-year-old gets acclimated. When Shaw asked him whether he should get a 14 1/2-inch glove length for his outfield mitt, Happ informed him that size doesn’t exist.
“So, that was helpful,” Shaw said with a smile.
After being relayed the anecdote Shaw shared, Happ quipped, “It’s the little things, you know?” Happ credited Ben Zobrist for helping him adjust to playing outfield, especially with breaking down the practice side of it when trying to juggle multiple positions. He expects to have conversations with Shaw during camp to work through how to juggle a super utility role.
Photos: An inside look at Chicago Cubs spring training
“The experience of being in and out and not knowing when your opportunities are going to come, just talking about the little things from a work perspective,” Happ said. “You want to go and do a bunch of things in the outfield and be the best outfielder you can be, but Ben Zobrist was really good with me about it’s not necessarily about making the flashy plays, it’s about doing all the little things right.”
Shaw believes the biggest challenge will be to balance getting work in at five different positions while making sure he stays healthy and in shape.
“It feels just so unique, it’s really different,” Shaw said. “I think it’s really hard to go outfield to infield, but infield to outfield, it feels like I’m kind of a kid again, running around, catching balls, diving and stuff, so it’s a lot of fun.”
Impending free agents focused on 2026
Nico Hoerner signs autographs after practice during the first day of the Chicago Cubs full-squad workout at spring training at Sloan Park on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
There is an understanding within the Cubs’ clubhouse, especially among the veterans, that there’s a good possibility 2026 is the last season for the core group.
While seven key Cubs are entering the final year of their contracts, the focus remains on coming together for another successful season and a deep run in October.
“Every player’s got a situation, and, frankly, if you’re at the point where you’re in a free-agent year, things have gone pretty well for you,” manager Craig Counsell said Monday. “This team, it’s now, and it’s be present in what you have the opportunity to accomplish with your friends, with your teammates, with guys that you’ve gone through maybe some different times with, that’s a real opportunity. That opportunity is really special. We should be wanting to grab that, and I don’t think we’ve got time to worry about (contracts).”
Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki said Monday they hadn’t had any extension talks with the front office. Nico Hoerner declined to discuss anything related to contract negotiations but expressed excitement at being part of this group.
“I’m grateful to be in this locker room right now, for sure,” Hoerner said. “The cool part is that we all do share a pretty amazing opportunity for this season. I think that’s going to be something here a lot of guys talk about, there’s plenty of guys on their last year here. And that’s also an opportunity, though, because we’ve been fortunate to play as a group for a while and it creates excitement.
“You don’t get to share a locker room with guys in a consistent core a lot in the big leagues.”
Cubs sign veteran reliever Shelby Miller
Milwaukee Brewers’ Shelby Miller pitches during a game against the New York Mets, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
The Cubs added veteran right-hander Shelby Miller on Sunday by signing the 35-year-old to a two-year deal worth $2.5 million with a club option for 2028.
Miller isn’t expected to help the Cubs this season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in October, the second time he’s had the procedure in his career, and will likely be out the entire 2025 season.
“A signing for the future, this year is very much in question, obviously, and it would be fast for this year so this is about next year primarily,” manager Craig Counsell said. “But you’re open to seeing how the rehab goes and see what happens there.”
Miller posted a 1.98 ERA in 37 games last year for the Arizona Diamondbacks but struggled following a trade deadline deal to Milwaukee, where he owned a 5.59 ERA in 11 outings before requiring surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).
Two players still impacted by visa delays
Chicago Cubs’ Moisés Ballesteros takes batting practice ahead of Game 3 of the NL wild-card series against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Oct. 2, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The Cubs’ first full-squad workout did not include two players who are still waiting for their visa issues to be resolved.
Catchers Moisés Ballesteros (Venezuela) and Christian Bethancourt (Panama) remain absent as their visa delays continue. Counsell didn’t sound optimistic about either player joining them soon, estimating their arrival in Arizona this upcoming weekend at the earliest. Counsell said he’s had some phone conversations with Ballesteros, but that there’s not much to be done other than letting the process play out.
Chairman Tom Ricketts is not too concerned about Ballesteros’ and Bethancourt’s visa issues quite yet.
“It seems like every year there’s always a couple guys who are having a little trouble moving back and forth,” Ricketts said. “We have good people on it, so I’m sure we’ll solve it.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/chicago-cubs-matt-shaw-shelby-miller/
Bold new US trio eyes Olympic figure skating gold while serving as role models for a new generation
MILAN — The trio of U.S. women targeting Olympic figure skating gold Tuesday night are not the dainty ice princesses of yesteryear.
There’s Amber Glenn, a 26-year-old powerhouse and LGBTQ+ rights activist whose career took off just when most figure skaters are contemplating retirement. The three-time and reigning U.S. champion’s unvarnished opinion on everything from politics to the trading card game “Magic: The Gathering” have made her a polarizing figure at the Milan Cortina Games.
Then there’s Alysa Liu, the one-time phenom who retired at 16 only to launch a comeback that resulted in the first world title for an American woman in nearly two decades. Liu’s blond-and-brunette striped hair, prominent frenulum piercing and nonconformist aura have made the 20-year-old a hero of the alt, punk and emo crowd.
And there’s Isabeau Levito, perhaps the closest thing to the innocent image of teen predecessors like Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes, right up until you get the 18-year-old away from the cameras, and her searing wit and biting sarcasm shine through.
They’ve dubbed themselves the “Blade Angels,” an homage to “Charlie’s Angels,” after rejecting such suggestions as “Powerpuff Girls” and “Babes of Glory,” which they worried might lead to some trademark issues. (As if they needed more of those in Milan.)
They are a new kind of role model for a new generation of American girls.
They also are the last chance to salvage a disappointing Olympics for American figure skaters.
“I really like that we’re all different,” Levito said, “and we all have our own strengths and personalities, and our own ways we want to look and appear. I think it’s really great, because while we all have the same passion for the sport, and we have very aligned goals.”
‘I thought I would be done at 18’
Amber Glenn competes during the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Glenn grew up in Plano, Texas. Her father, Richard, is a police sergeant and her mom, Cathlene, a fitness instructor. She’s represented the U.S. internationally for nearly 15 years, which happens to be how old Lipinski was when she won Olympic gold.
It’s hard to get more unabashedly American. Yet some critics nevertheless questioned her allegiances on the eve of the Milan Cortina Games, when Glenn answered a question about the political climate for the LGBTQ+ community under President Donald Trump.
“I hope I can use my platform and voice throughout these Games to help people stay strong during these hard times,” she said. “A lot of people will say, ‘You’re just an athlete. Stick to your job. Shut up about politics.’ But politics affect us all.”
Glenn probably wouldn’t have taken such a bold stance a decade ago, when she nearly quit the sport.
But over the course of her career, she’s tackled head-on an eating disorder, which is all-too common in the sport. She spent time in a mental health facility to get a handle on her depression. She learned to cope with ADHD. And she came to understand her sexuality; Glenn identifies as pansexual, meaning she is attracted to people regardless of sex or gender.
“I’ve been through a lot,” Glenn told The Associated Press. “It’s taken many, many years to get to this point.”
Now, she has an Olympic gold medal from her Winter Games debut after helping the U.S. defend its title in the team event.
“I stepped away from the sport. I’ve come back. At one point, I hated it. Whenever people would ask me, ‘Oh, should my kids get into it?’ I would be like, ‘No, never,’” Glenn said. “But I’ve seen the people around me grow, and how the environment of figure skating has changed, and how we’re trying to change it. And in doing so, we’ve created an environment I like to be in every day.”
‘I hated skating when I quit’
Alysa Liu competes in the short program during the team event at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 6, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Joosep Martinson/Getty Images)
Liu is the only member of the U.S. women’s team with any previous Olympics experience. But much like Glenn, she had come to loathe the sport by the time she finished sixth at the Beijing Games, so much so that she quit entirely. She was 16 at the time.
“I really hated skating when I quit. Like, I really didn’t like it,” Liu told the AP. “I didn’t care about competitions. I didn’t care about places. I didn’t care about skaters. I didn’t care about my programs. I just wanted to, like, get away. I want nothing to do with that. I hated fame. I hated social media. I didn’t like interviews. Like, I hated all of it.”
It took walking away for Liu to finally find herself.
The same kid who’d get dropped off at the rink by her father in the morning and picked up at night, and who thirsted for friends her age while living and training alone in Colorado, began to explore: Liu climbed to the base camp of Mt. Everest, ticked off items on her ever-growing bucket list, and enrolled at UCLA to study, perhaps fittingly, psychology.
“I learned so much. Met so many new people,” Liu said. “I had to exercise my free will and push myself in different ways.”
‘Now I want to be here’: Alysa Liu thrives for the US at the Olympics with a new outlook on life
She began contemplating a comeback two years ago, after she went skiing and experienced an adrenaline rush unlike anything she’d felt since hanging up the skates. Liu didn’t know where it would lead — certainly not the first world title for an American since Kimmie Meissner in 2006, and definitely not another Winter Games — but she knew that she loved the feeling of skating again.
Everything in Liu’s life has meaning now, including the striking horizontal stripes in her hair. They’re meant to represent the growth rings of a tree. There are three of them at present, and like a tree, Liu plans to add another ring each year.
“I used to feel like a puppet or a canvas that other people were using,” she said. “Now I do things for myself.”
‘They have no idea what you’re actually like’
Isabeau Levito performs during the World Figure Skating Championships at the TD Garden on March 26, 2025. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Levito has always admired Russian skater Evgenia Medvedeva, perhaps the most dominant women’s skater of the mid-2000s, who was heavily favored to win gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games but wound up with the silver medal instead.
“She was just so pretty. I just wanted to have that angelic energy that I feel like she has,” Levito told the AP. “Amber and Alysa have their distinct style, and she was more like me. My style is, I don’t know, put together. I don’t know how to word it.
“The ice princess image,” Levito said, after a long pause, “which is silly to say.”
Mostly because it is just that — an image.
Yes, there is a sense of purity surrounding Levito, whose mother, Chiara, immigrated to the U.S. from Milan three decades ago, and whose grandmother still lives in the host city of the Winter Games. But pull her away from the TV cameras, photographers and the prying eyes of the world, and her sarcastic-bordering-on-vulgar sense of humor bubbles to the surface.
At last month’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Levito was asked her favorite quality in Liu, who was sitting beside her. “I want to say something but I won’t,” Levito said, before succumbing to a little prodding: “She keeps the hoes on their toes,” she said.
“I think it’s so funny,” Levito said later, reflecting on that day. “The internet is like, ‘Our Isabeau is not a baby anymore,’ when they have no idea what you’re actually like. I just don’t want to say the wrong things in front of the media.”
So, Levito plays it safe. She wears a sort of mask for the public, projecting the image she thinks people want to see.
Much like Glenn and Liu have people who can relate to them, there are a whole lot of people who can relate to that.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/olympics-amber-glenn-alysa-liu/
Connor Hellebuyck shows why he’s the US starting goalie at the Olympics
MILAN — Connor Hellebuyck could not be doing much better midway through the Olympics.
“Is there more than 100%?” he asked with a laugh after backstopping the U.S. past Germany in the round-robin finale. “I feel good. It’s pretty hot out there. I’m sweating a lot now I have to stand around and do a bunch of (interviews), so I’m going to chill now. I guess I’m at 99% right now as we speak. But, yeah, I feel good out there.”
Related Articles
Column: Ilia Malinin isn’t the 1st star athlete to flop on the big stage — and he can turn it into a positive
Bold new US trio eyes Olympic figure skating gold while serving as role models for a new generation
Photos: The best images from Day 10 of the 2026 Winter Olympics
2026 Winter Olympics: Meet the medalists from the United States
Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, wins her 1st Olympic gold — and 6th overall medal — in monobob
The Americans feel good about him. Hellebuyck showed in the preliminary round why he’s the U.S. starting goaltender in Milan, leading the tournament with a .952 save percentage and matching Canada’s Jordan Binnington for the best goals-against average at 1.00.
“He’s one of the best goalies in the world,” U.S. forward Matt Boldy said. “He’s confident. He wants to be in the net. He wants to make the saves and to make a big difference. He has the skills to back it up, but I think that attitude and how confident he is in himself and in his game is I think what makes him so great.”
Hellebuyck started two of the three group-play games and stopped 40 of the 42 shots he faced against Latvia and Germany. Jeremy Swayman was shaky against Denmark, but bounced back from allowing a goal from nearly center ice to get the win.
Jake Oettinger dressed once as the No. 3 netminder, with coach Mike Sullivan repeatedly saying how tough a decision he and his staff had at the position with three options just about any country would love to have.
It was always Hellebuyck. He was the guy at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year and is the reigning NHL MVP and Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s best goalie
“He’s won a lot of trophies,” winger Jake Guentzel said. “We feel good with him back there.”
Not tested a whole lot by Latvia, Hellebuyck was there when Leon Draisaitl, Moritz Seider, Tim Stützle and Germany had quality scoring chances. He allowed just one goal to Stützle, and Sullivan called it Hellebuyck’s best game yet.
“You could feel his confidence from the bench just watching him make the saves,” Sullivan said. “When he’s at his best, my observation of him is he has economy of motion, and a lot of pucks just hit him, and he makes it look easy the way he squares up to pucks, but his rebound control, he swallowed everything. There was no rebounds for Germany to have an opportunity to create a next play.”
Hellebuyck figures to be in the crease in the quarterfinals Wednesday night when the U.S. faces the winner of the qualification playoff between Sweden and Latvia. He feels in a good rhythm after playing twice in four days, with a little bit of rest before the next start.
“There was a conversation about how we wanted to go about things, and this just made the most sense,” Hellebuyck said.
It never made sense for anyone but Hellebuyck to be the U.S. starter, even if his season with the Winnipeg Jets was not going all that well. He has a 2.79 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage after a league-best 2.00 and a .925 in 2024-25.
None of that matters at the Olympics, where his teammates are counting on Hellebuyck being the backbone of what they hope is a deep run.
“I expect just him being him,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We have full trust in him. I train with him in the summers. I know how hard it is to score on him consistently. He’s just super solid back there. He’s steady, doesn’t give up much, doesn’t give up any rebounds and it makes us have a calming presence in front of him.”
The U.S. is rolling into the quarterfinals after outscoring opponents 16-5. For all the scoring talent up front, the team needs Hellebuyck to be at his best the rest of the way given the difficulty level ratcheting up.
That should not faze Hellebuyck.
“He has so much fun out there, and I think for us seeing that, it just kind of gives us a boost of confidence because he’s just so steady in the net,” captain Auston Matthews said. “Never really seems like he’s in a panic or anything. He’s just in such good position and that’s why he’s one of the best in the world. That’s a guy that we’ve got a lot of faith in back there.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/connor-hellebuyck-us-starting-goalie/
Kane County Board OKs Flock license plate reader contract renewal for Sheriff’s Office
At its meeting last week, the Kane County Board approved a renewal of the Kane County Sheriff’s Office’s contract with Flock Safety for its license plate reader cameras throughout the county.
The Sheriff’s Office contracts with Atlanta-based Flock Group, Inc., for the surveillance technology, per the measure approved Tuesday. The office’s current contract includes 25 license plate reader cameras placed throughout the county, including at the Judicial Center complex and government center.
The Flock license plate reader cameras have been controversial in some nearby communities, a few of which have recently ended their contracts with the company. In the past year, for example, both Oak Park and Evanston halted their contracts with Flock amid concern over information possibly being shared with federal immigration agencies.
At a Kane County Board Judicial and Public Safety Committee meeting in January, Undersheriff Amy Johnson said that the license plate reader cameras help the Sheriff’s Office “a tremendous amount.”
Asked by board member Jon Gripe at that committee meeting how many of the license plate readers the Sheriff’s Office would ideally want to have, Johnson said that they would ideally have 45-50 throughout the county, up from their current 25.
Gripe also asked if those numbers included the Forest Preserve District’s Flock cameras, and Johnson said that they are separate, but are all interconnected.
The contract renewal comes at a cost of $72,000 annually, and was included in the Sheriff’s Office’s 2026 fiscal year budget, per the measure. It was recommended for approval by the Judicial and Public Safety Committee in January, and received final approval from the full board on Feb. 10.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/kane-county-flock-renewal/
Editorial: Diane Harris for Illinois Secretary of State Republican primary
The secretary of state’s office is is not the stuff of dreams, but winning it proffers statewide name recognition. The office also is important because all Illinois residents must deal with it (or stand in line it) at one point or another, so efficient service is paramount. Vying to run against Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias in November are Republicans Diane Harris, 70, and Walter Adamczyk, 48.
Adamczyk is a Republican committeeman in Chicago’s 29th Ward and says he wants to provide free IDs to veterans. Harris, of Joliet, is a small business owner and former teacher, and an active member of the Republican Party, serving as a precinct committee head and vice chair of the Joliet Township Republicans. Both are running on the need to improve customer service and operational efficiency.
Each of these candidates has run before, albeit unsuccessfully, for higher office. Harris ran in 2022 for the Illinois Senate in the 43rd District, losing by 12 points to Democratic state Sen. Rachel Ventura. Adamczyk, on the other hand, mounted a write-in bid for Chicago City Council in 2023 that drew minimal support. Neither candidate currently reports significant fundraising, making a general-election challenge steep against a well-known and well-funded incumbent. Of the two Republican candidates, Harris is the more viable option.
Diane Harris is endorsed.
Read all of the Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsements for the 2026 Illinois primary election here.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Civil Rights Leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Dead At 84
Civil Rights Leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Dead At 84
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the longtime civil rights activist and two-time presidential candidate, died on Tuesday at the age of 84, according to NBC News.
Jackson’s family released this statement:
“Our father was a servant leader, not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world. 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, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”
Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton wrote in a statement that “our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices” and paid tribute to a man who “carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice.”
“Reverend Jackson stood wherever dignity was under attack, from apartheid abroad to injustice at home. His voice echoed in boardrooms and in jail cells. His presence shifted rooms. His faith never wavered,” Sharpton said.
The cause of death was not immediately given by the family; however, they said he died peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones.
One important note: Jackson had been living with progressive supranuclear palsy for more than a decade. He was also hospitalized twice with Covid in recent years.
Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941 and quickly became a civil rights leader, emerging as one of several disciples of Martin Luther King Jr. His activism spanned half a century, including two runs for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
“America is not like a blanket, one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt: many patches, many pieces, many colours, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread,” Jackson told the audience at the 1984 Democratic convention. “Even in our fractured state, all of us count and fit somewhere.”
During the Monica Lewinsky scandal at the White House, Jackson offered the Clinton family much-needed spiritual advice:
“You need faith when storms come suddenly, so I really talked to Hillary and Chelsea about matters of faith and unconditional love.”
In the Obama years, Jackson stated, “We are a better America today.”
But as soon as the Trump era began, he warned, “The idea of making America great again reopens the wounds in America’s immoral foundation, born in sin, and shaped in inequity.”
Tyler Durden
Tue, 02/17/2026 – 06:55
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/civil-rights-leader-rev-jesse-jackson-dead-84
