MILAN — For a while now, Jordan Stolz’s talent and dominance as a speedskater, and his much-anticipated potential for Olympic success, prompted many to repeatedly mention his name — prematurely, no doubt — alongside that of Eric Heiden. Now they really do belong in the same sentence, at least in one regard.

Stolz established himself as a two-time Olympic gold medalist, midway to his goal of four at the Milan Cortina Games, by winning the 500 meters on Saturday to follow up his victory in the 1,000. Those twin triumphs allowed Stolz, a 21-year-old from Wisconsin, to join Heiden as the only men to complete the 500-1,000 double in speedskating at one Olympics.

“I mean, I guess it’s halfway, but it’s hard to say it’s like a 50% chance to get the other two,” Stolz said. “Because you never know what can happen.”

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

Heiden, of course, completed a record sweep of all five individual events at the 1980 Lake Placid Games for the U.S., taking everything from the 500 to the 10,000.

With Heiden in the stands Saturday, Stolz finished the 500 in an Olympic-record time of 33.77 seconds after also setting a Games mark in his win in the 1,000. Both times, the silver went to Jenning do Boo of the Netherlands, who clocked 33.88 in the shortest speedskating event. Both times, they raced head-to-head in the same heat.

“We push each other. He’s really strong. I’m also really strong. It’s really cool to see,” Stolz said. “I guess I like being paired together. It makes it more fun for the viewers.”

Stolz figured the 500 would be his toughest test in Milan. He was leading out of the final curve. They were even entering the last stretch. But Stolz, who overcame a deficit in the 1,000, turned on the speed and leaned across the line first again. De Boo slipped and fell into the wall afterward, while Stolz skated past and shook his right fist.

Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil took the bronze in 34.26.

The last American to win Olympic gold in the men’s 500 was Joey Cheek in 2006.

The soft-spoken Stolz acknowledged that, yes, his aims are high, and, sure, he is flattered by the comparisons to Heiden. But Stolz, who isn’t entered in the 5,000 or 10,000 in Milan, also knows he isn’t trying to re-create the same sort of unprecedented and all-encompassing performance turned in by Heiden.

Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands falls in front of American Jordan Stolz after competing in the 500-meter speedskating final at the Winter Olympics on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Milan. Stolz won the race for the gold medal. (David J. Phillip/AP)

Still, Stolz does have a real shot at four medals, maybe even four golds, he is seeking at his second Winter Games.

“He goes to the starting line,” said Heiden, who’s also from Wisconsin and, like Stolz, learned to skate on a backyard frozen pond, “and I would suspect he thinks he’s probably going to win.”

Heiden greeted Stolz when he left the ice with the gold after the 500 and gave him a hug.

The first gold? Stolz’s father, Dirk, said Jordan slept with it on his pillow the night after the 1,000.

“You see some athletes, just mentally — they might be physically all there, but all of a sudden, the pressure comes in and it affects their performance,” Dirk Stolz said. “And I don’t see it with Jordan a whole lot.

At Beijing in 2022, just 17 years old, Stolz finished 13th in the 500 and 14th in the 1,000. In the time since, though, he has established himself as the best in the world at his sport, including two world titles each at the 500, the 1,000 and the 1,500. And right now, Stolz is so far living up to the outsized expectations and accompanying pressure that follow his every stride on the ice at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, a temporary facility created for this event.

Two races, two golds, two Olympic records.

“It just seems like he doesn’t get tired,” Dubreuil said. “I really don’t understand how that’s possible for somebody.”

Now there are two more races for Stolz, a six-time world champion: the 1,500 meters on Thursday and the mass start on Feb. 21.

The last man with three gold medals in speedskating at one Winter Games was Norway’s Johann Olav Koss, who won the 1,500, the 5,000 and the 10,000 at the 1994 Lillehammer Games

Stolz took to the ice to warm up Saturday about 2½ hours before his race. He paused at one point to plop himself down for a seat on the low boards along the ice, retying his black and green skates and smiling while chatting with his coach, Bob Corby.

No sign of nerves. None at all.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a walk in the park,” Stolz said. “I still have to do the right things.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/jordan-stolz-speedskating-double-gold-olympics/ 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns.

SpaceX delivered the U.S., French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral.

Last month’s medical evacuation was NASA’s first in 65 years of human spaceflight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty return. That left only three crew members to keep the place running — one American and two Russians — prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research.

Moving in for eight to nine months are NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have lived up there before. During her first station visit in 2019, Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk.

Adenot, a military helicopter pilot, is only the second French woman to fly in space. Hathaway is a captain in the U.S. Navy.

“Bonjour!” Adenot called out once the capsule docked to the space station 277 miles (446 kilometers) up. Added Meir: “Grateful to be on board, and we’re ready to get to work.”

NASA has refused to divulge the identity of the astronaut who fell ill in orbit on Jan. 7 or explain what happened, citing medical privacy. The ailing astronaut and three others returned to Earth more than a month sooner than planned. They spent their first night back on Earth at the hospital before returning to Houston.

The space agency said it did not alter its preflight medical checks for their replacements.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/four-new-astronauts-nasa/ 

Por RYAN PEARSON y PATRICK WHITTLE

LOS ÁNGELES (AP) — Casey Wasserman, presidente del comité organizador de los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles 2028, está vendiendo su agencia de talentos homónima tras la divulgación de correos electrónicos entre él y Ghislaine Maxwell.

Los correos electrónicos de Wasserman con Maxwell se conocieron a raíz de su aparición en archivos gubernamentales sobre Jeffrey Epstein publicados recientemente. Wasserman, cuya agencia representa a algunos de los principales artistas de música pop del mundo, no ha sido acusado de ninguna irregularidad.

Los documentos publicados recientemente revelaron que en 2003 intercambió correos electrónicos coquetos con Maxwell, quien años después sería acusada de ayudar a Epstein a reclutar y abusar sexualmente de sus víctimas. Wasserman señaló en un memorando enviado a su personal el viernes por la noche que ha iniciado el proceso de venta de la empresa, según un portavoz de la compañía que facilitó el memorando a The Associated Press.

El memorando de Wasserman al personal indicó que sentía que se había convertido en una distracción para el trabajo de la empresa.

“El memorando indicó: ‘Durante este tiempo, Mike Watts asumirá el control cotidiano del negocio mientras yo dedico toda mi atención a ofrecer a Los Ángeles unos Juegos Olímpicos en 2028 que estén a la altura de esta extraordinaria ciudad’”.

El memorando llegó días después de que el comité ejecutivo de la junta de LA28 se reuniera para hablar de la aparición de Wasserman en los archivos de Epstein. El comité afirmó que, junto con un bufete externo, realizó una revisión de las interacciones de Wasserman con Epstein y Maxwell con la plena cooperación de Wasserman.

“Determinamos que la relación del señor Wasserman con Epstein y Maxwell no fue más allá de lo que ya se ha documentado públicamente” expresó el comité en un comunicado.

El comunicado también indicó que Wasserman “debería seguir al frente de LA28 y ofrecer unos Juegos seguros y exitosos”.

Wasserman ha dicho anteriormente que voló en una misión humanitaria a África en el avión privado de Epstein por invitación de la Fundación Clinton en 2002. Los intercambios entre Wasserman y Maxwell en los archivos incluyen que Wasserman le escribió a Maxwell: “Pienso en ti todo el tiempo. Entonces, ¿qué tengo que hacer para verte con un atuendo ajustado de cuero?”.

Su agencia, también llamada Wasserman, ha perdido clientes a raíz de los correos electrónicos con Maxwell. Entre ellos están la cantante Chappell Roan y la leyenda retirada del fútbol femenino de Estados Unidos Abby Wambach.

Wasserman expresó en su memorando al personal que sus interacciones con Maxwell y Epstein fueron limitadas y que lamenta los correos electrónicos.

“Fue años antes de que saliera a la luz su conducta delictiva y, en su totalidad, consistió en un viaje humanitario a África y un puñado de correos electrónicos que lamento profundamente haber enviado. Y me rompe el corazón que mi breve contacto con ellos hace 23 años les haya causado a ustedes, a esta empresa y a sus clientes tantas dificultades en los últimos días y semanas”, señala el comunicado.

___

Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/presidente-del-comit-organizador-de-los-ngeles-2028-wasserman-envuelto-en-caso-epstein/ 

FAA Mandates Airlines To Affirm Merit Hiring For Pilots

Tyler Durden
Sat, 02/14/2026 – 16:20

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/faa-mandates-airlines-affirm-merit-hiring-pilots 

LINCOLN, Neb. — Pryce Sandfort scored 29 points, Sam Hoiberg added 14 and No. 7 Nebraska shook off a slow start to beat Northwestern 68-49 Saturday.

The Cornhuskers (22-3, 11-3 Big Ten) overcame a season high-tying 18 turnovers and poor shooting in the first half to sweep the season series with the Wildcats (10-16, 2-13), who have lost five straight and 11 of 13.

Nebraska was celebrating alumni weekend with more than 75 players on hand and came into the game off losses in three of their last four.

This one was a slog until the middle of the second half. Reserve guard Cale Jacobsen scored eight of his 10 points and blocked a shot during a 14-4 spurt that turned the Huskers’ 39-38 deficit into a 52-43 lead. The Wildcats managed just three field goals over the final 13 minutes.

Sandfort, who shot 6 of 11 on 3-pointers, had 25-plus points and six 3s in a game for the fourth time.

Northwestern, which led second-ranked Michigan by 16 points at home before losing 87-75 on Wednesday, was up eight on the Huskers in the first half.

The Wildcats were looking for their highest-ranked win on the road in nine years and were down 28-27 at half before bogging down. They shot 35%, made 1 of 7 3s and turned over the ball eight times in the final 20 minutes.

Big Ten scoring leader Nick Martinelli, averaging 22.5 points per game, missed his first six shots before he muscled in his only basket of the first half and finished with a team-high 11.

Up next

Northwestern: vs. Maryland on Wednesday.
Nebraska: at Iowa on Tuesday.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/northwestern-nebraska-big-ten/ 

Por BETH HARRIS

INGLEWOOD, California, EE.UU. (AP) — El evento Shooting Stars regresa al fin de semana del Juego de Estrellas de la NBA por primera vez desde 2015.

El evento, con tres jugadores por equipo, se disputa el sábado en el Intuit Dome, casa de los Clippers de Los Ángeles, y reemplaza este año la competencia de habilidades.

Allan Houston, un ex campeón de Shooting Stars que se retiró en 2005, integra el Equipo Knicks junto con los actuales jugadores de los Knicks de Nueva York Jalen Brunson y Karl-Anthony Towns.

Ron Harper Sr., quien se retiró en 2001, lo convierte en un asunto familiar en el Equipo Harper con sus hijos Ron Harper Jr., de Boston, y Dylan Harper, de San Antonio.

Richard Hamilton, quien se retiró en 2015, encabeza el Equipo All-Star junto con Scottie Barnes, de Toronto, y Chet Holmgren, de Oklahoma City.

Como un guiño a su alma mater, Duke, el exjugador de la NBA Corey Maggette se une al novato de Charlotte Kon Knueppel y a Jalen Johnson, de Atlanta, en el Equipo Cameron.

El formato de dos rondas incluye a los cuatro equipos compitiendo en la primera ronda, con los dos mejores avanzando a la final. Los equipos tienen 70 segundos para anotar puntos mientras rotan por siete ubicaciones de tiro designadas alrededor de la cancha, con los tres jugadores de cada equipo lanzando en cada punto en un orden establecido.

El concurso de clavadas coronará a un nuevo campeón.

Mac McClung, tres veces ganador —actualmente con un contrato de doble vía con los Bulls de Chicago—, no participa. Fue el único competidor en la historia en tener un concurso perfecto, al recibir 50 de cada juez en todas sus clavadas el año pasado en San Francisco.

Será un cuadro de cuatro participantes por quinto año consecutivo: Carter Bryant, de San Antonio; Jaxson Hayes, de los Lakers; Keshad Johnson, de Miami, y Jase Richardson, de Orlando.

El grupo de ocho participantes del concurso de triples incluye al dos veces campeón Damian Lillard y al ganador de 2018 Devin Booker.

Lillard ganó su primer título en 2023 cuando jugaba para Portland. Lo ganó de nuevo al año siguiente con Milwaukee. Ahora, está de vuelta con los Trail Blazers, aunque no juega esta temporada mientras se rehabilita de una rotura del tendón de Aquiles izquierdo.

El concurso enfrenta a la vieja guardia contra el recién llegado.

Donovan Mitchell, el veterano de 29 años de Cleveland, lidera la liga en triples anotados con 185. Kon Knueppel, un destacado novato de 20 años de Charlotte, le sigue muy de cerca con 183. Tyrese Maxey, de Filadelfia, también está entre los líderes de la liga.

El campeón defensor Tyler Herro, del Heat de Miami, no regresa. Tampoco estará Stephen Curry, de Golden State, el ganador de 2021 y uno de los mejores tiradores de triples en la historia de la liga.

Norman Powell, de Miami, podría tener una ligera ventaja. Jugó la temporada pasada con los Clippers de Los Ángeles en su nueva arena. También participan Jamal Murray, de Denver, y Bobby Portis Jr., de Milwaukee.

___

Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/shooting-stars-vuelve-al-fin-de-semana-del-juego-de-estrellas-de-la-nba-por-1-vez-desde-2015/ 

One year after icy floodwater poured into her Skokie neighborhood block on Lyons Street, Kathleen Schmidt is still paying the price for the extensive Valentine’s Day damage.

“I lost over $100,000 worth of stuff and the [village] was only going to give me $500,” for the Feb. 14, 2025 disaster, Schmidt told the Pioneer Press.

A large water main broke and triggered the fiasco, which caused financial losses, the shutdown of a major mall and other businesses, a lack of sanitary tap water for everyone in the north suburb of 65,000 and a lot of hassle.

As a single mother with school-aged triplets, Schmidt said she didn’t have the time or resources to navigate a lengthy claims process. Her insurance provider agreed to cover the damages to her home only after she paid the full deductible. They didn’t cover the damage to her car.

Kate Robinson washes dishes with bottled water in her home in Evanston on Feb. 15, 2025, after the city issued a boil order for residents after a water main break in Skokie. “It’s just an automatic habit to turn the faucets on and off, so I’ve had to tape them,” Robinson said. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

“I had to buy a whole new car,” Schmidt said. “My payments went up $500 a month.” Two vehicles owned by Schmidt’s 82-year-old father, with whom she shares a residence, were also lost to water damage.

“It’s just really frustrating, and I had to go to therapy and my daughters had therapy because our anxiety was making it hard to function,” she said.

Schmidt is just one of the many residents and businesses still grappling with the fallout from the 36-inch water main break that left parts of Skokie flooded with freezing cold water last year.

The incident lasted nearly three days, triggered a boil water order for the village and ultimately a state of emergency, forcing many businesses to close on one of the most profitable holidays of the year: Valentine’s Day.

A resident posts a message on their garage as workers respond nearby to a water main break on East Prairie Road in Skokie. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

Village officials say they have taken steps in the past year to repair the damaged infrastructure and prevent future issues from occurring. But residents and local business owners say a year out from the flooding, they are still grappling with financial losses and unanswered questions.

The calamity occurred about six weeks before Skokie Mayor Ann Tennes was elected, but she has had to deal with the fallout.

“I remember that weekend clearly — the confusion, the disruption, and neighbors stepping up to help one another,” she wrote in an email to Pioneer Press. “Although I was not yet in office, I heard from many residents and businesses about the strain it caused, and those impacts lingered when I took office two months later.

“Since then, the Village has repaired vulnerable infrastructure and strengthened emergency communications. We are pursuing funding, working with state partners, and focusing on long-term improvements to our aging systems. If a similar situation occurs during my tenure, we will be better prepared.”

Infrastructure updates

At a November village board meeting, former Public Works Director Max Slankard assured residents that the department initiated an analysis immediately following the incident to determine the cause of the water main break and to prevent future infrastructure failures.

“We talked in the immediate aftermath of the water main break about next steps on our Feb. 18, 2025 presentation, and we’ve completed the majority of those steps,” Slankard said. “One of the things was to determine mitigation measures necessary to prevent this from occurring in the future and based upon what we’ve thought we’ve understood about the nature of this failure, we’ve taken care of the two biggest points of vulnerability through this investigation process.”

Exponent, an engineering and scientific consulting firm hired to investigate the infrastructure failure, later shared their findings at the meeting.

According to the investigation, the source of the failure occurred around 5 a.m. at the water main at East Prairie Road and Emerson Street. The break was caused by a failed fitting cap manufactured in 1956. The cap had an expected lifespan of between 80 and 100 years.

A water main break in Skokie Feb. 14, 2025 flooded several areas, including Ewing Street. Residents said several garages were flooded, and Skokie and Evanston issued boil orders for drinking water. (Richard Requena/Pioneer Press)

A later review of water records indicated that two additional locations were found to have “wye” pipe fittings similar to the fitting that failed last February, and crews excavated and replaced both fittings to add new infrastructure and concrete restraints.

Skokie’s Communications and Community Engagement Director Patrick Deignan said in an email that the village was also currently in the process of selecting a contractor “to conduct a broader assessment of large-diameter pipes,” specifically pipes that are 20 inches in diameter or larger in the transmission system, “to guide future risk and rehabilitation planning.”

Deignan added that village staff conducted “extensive door-to-door, phone and email outreach to households in the affected area,” and worked “closely with households impacted by flooding to document property damage and review insurance coverage.”

After receiving surveys from 11 residential property owners who reported damage to living spaces and 16 who reported vehicle damage, the village provided financial support ranging from “several hundred dollars for minor vehicle damage, to $10,000 for households with basement damage,” Deignan said. The financial support was distributed to households over the past summer.

Schmidt, the resident whose home suffered the extensive damage, said that village officials informed residents that they were “self-insured,” meaning the village had opted against third-party insurance policies and would pay any claims out of their own funds (up to $2,000, according to a Skokie financial report).

Schmidt said the village gave residents who filed claims with them an amount equal to their deductible, but advised residents to contact their own insurance providers.

Schmidt said she was told by officials that the village would not get assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because fewer than 25 houses were affected by the flooding and that disaster relief did not include vehicles. Officials later told her they would only refund her insurance deductible.

Because Schmidt had been in contact with the city prior to their policy announcement, and had “written communication” with the village’s risk manager at the time, Schmidt said the village was able to give her the full amount promised in their communications, “which was only about $2,000.”

Deignan, the communications director, noted, “While the Village was not legally responsible for the damages resulting from this unprecedented event, we recognized the significant impact it had on households in the immediate area and made every effort to support their recovery.

“Because the aggregate damage did not meet the established emergency thresholds for state or federal disaster assistance, the Village chose to work directly with affected residents to provide financial support. The Village’s self insurance strategy provided a funding source to make this assistance possible.”

Slankard said at the Board meeting that the biggest reflections from the water main break were “communication lessons” for the department. He confirmed the department received a lot of feedback from residents in the area regarding its messaging and outreach, and that it would prioritize future “timely coordination and communication of messaging” to the community.

“We did consider at the time deployment of the mobile police command station, but we had some concern, as I recall at the time, that we didn’t want to draw people out of their homes, out in the water environment when the situation was first going on,” he said.

Slankard acknowledged that the department’s telephone system did not function as effectively as intended during the break, and that it was “overwhelmed” by calls. He later stated that this spring, Public Works will be migrating to a new phone system with “virtually limitless capacity,” so that residents should never experience a busy signal.

While the department works to upgrade its communication system and emergency response messaging, village leaders said the incident underscored the broader challenges that arise with aging infrastructure across the city.

“I think just on a regional basis, the Chicagoland region has aging infrastructure,” said incoming Skokie Public Works Director Patrick Hastings, who has not started on the job yet. “It opened up a lot of eyes and made a lot of other municipalities say, ‘hey, we need to start reviewing not only our capital needs, but also our procedures for handling situations like this.’”

Hastings, who currently serves as the director of public works for the village of Schiller Park, said the event propelled that village to take a “different look” at the infrastructure in place. This included undertaking two new projects to re-line the water main and upgrade the piping in an incoming transmission meter pit from Chicago.

“I think what [the water main break] did was definitely, in my eyes, made us look at what are the critical points in our water system and start prioritizing those,” Hastings said.

Financial reimbursements

Despite the flooding being mostly contained in a residential area of northeastern Skokie and the northwestern portion of Evanston, the burst resulted in major financial losses for several local businesses and restaurants, including the closure of Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center. It also forced the transfer of several Skokie Hospital patients due to a lack of clean running water in the area.

Marcos Rivera, owner of Libertad, a fine dining restaurant on Lincoln Avenue in downtown Skokie, said his damages totaled over $70,000 that weekend.

After more than a year of haggling over costs with his insurance provider, Rivera said he just couldn’t take it anymore and settled for the $4,000 they gave him.

‘It was a difficult and long process, and ultimately I pretty much got nothing,” Rivera said. “It was rough, especially considering that [it happened] on one of our best days of the year. [Valentine’s Day] is what gets us through the hump of winter.”

Rivera said the village offered local business owners the opportunity to apply for financial assistance after they received approval for emergency disaster relief from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in May 2025. But Rivera, along with many other small business owners, opted not to file a claim with the village because the assistance was provided in the form of a low-interest loan that came with additional drawbacks.

“To take out a loan to cover a loss of something that the village did, and it wasn’t interest free…it didn’t feel very nice,” said Madeleine England, owner of Kneads & Wants bakery in downtown Skokie.

England also opted against the loan, but said her bakery lost a total of over $8,000 in waste, labor, accommodations and business over the weekend. Many customers came from across the city to buy pastries on Valentine’s Day and left angry when they couldn’t purchase anything. England said the event likely cost her future business as well.

“The communication was not good enough that some of the restaurants just operated normally, so they were serving in unsanitary conditions,” England said.

As the leader of the Downtown Skokie Merchants Collaborative, England said she wrote to village leaders on behalf of all merchants, requesting future communication on how to operate in water emergencies. Officials agreed to send this information, but England said she hasn’t received anything yet.

“That feels like the missing piece to me,” she said.

Fostering collective support

Carrie Cole, owner of Take Flight Spirits, a craft distillery in downtown Skokie on Lincoln Avenue, said she estimates her business lost between $3,000 to $4,000 in sales between Friday and Saturday.

“People come out for Valentine’s Day, regardless of the weather or anything. And since it was on a Friday, we were expecting it to be even better than usual. So it just, it hurt,” Cole said.

Cole said she didn’t file an insurance claim or apply for the village’s loan. “We’re already dealing with our small business loan, and I didn’t want to add another loan payment onto that. We just toughed it out. And I do think it hurt for a couple of months.”

Despite the widespread disruption on what was supposed to be one of the biggest profit-generating days of the year, Cole reflected on the crisis optimistically, acknowledging that it worked to foster a sense of solidarity among local business owners and residents.

Later that month, a collection of local establishments partnered to launch a website where customers could donate or purchase gift items, with the proceeds shared across the participating businesses to help offset losses from the major holiday. Cole said the proceeds raised over $2,000.

“It’s such a great community,” Cole added. “Between all of the business owners, but also all of the residents. Some of our favorite residents live within walking distance of our tasting rooms. They came out to support us as soon as we were back open again.”

Tennes added, “I remain committed to supporting our small businesses, encouraging residents to shop locally, and ensuring those still experiencing lingering impacts know the Village is here to help.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/one-year-skokie-suffer-water-main-break/ 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Estados Unidos efectuó varios ataques contra blancos del grupo Estado Islámico en Siria, reportaron el sábado las fuerzas armadas del país norteamericano, en represalia por la emboscada de diciembre en la que murieron dos soldados y un intérprete civil estadounidenses.

El Comando Central de Estados Unidos señaló en un comunicado que aeronaves estadounidenses realizaron 10 ataques contra más de 30 objetivos del EI entre el 3 de febrero y el jueves, alcanzando instalaciones de almacenamiento de armas y otra infraestructura.

Al menos 50 miembros del EI han muerto o han sido capturados, mientras que más de 100 blancos del EI han sido atacados desde que Washington inició sus ataques tras la emboscada del 13 de diciembre, según el Comando Central. En ese ataque murieron el sargento Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, el sargento William Nathaniel Howard y Ayad Mansoor Sakat, el intérprete civil.

Por su parte, el Ministerio de Defensa sirio indicó el jueves que las fuerzas gubernamentales tomaron el control de una base en el este del país que durante años fue operada por fuerzas estadounidenses como parte de la lucha contra el Estado Islámico. La base de Al-Tanf desempeñó un papel destacado después de que el EI declarara un califato en amplias zonas de Siria e Irak en 2014.

Las fuerzas armadas de Estados Unidos completaron el viernes el traslado de miles de detenidos del EI desde Siria a Irak, donde se prevé que sean juzgados. Los prisioneros fueron enviados a Irak a solicitud de Bagdad, en una medida celebrada por la coalición que durante años combatió al EI, la cual es encabezada por Washington.

——-

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/eeuu-ataca-blancos-del-estado-islmico-en-siria/ 

Indian Prairie School District 204 is again hosting its annual Mental Health and Wellness Symposium, in partnership with East Aurora School District 131, Naperville Community Unit School District 203 and Oswego Community Unit School District 308, officials with District 204 said in a news release.

The symposium, which is presented by the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation, will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at Metea Valley High School in Aurora, according to District 204 officials.

The purpose of the event is to provide families with tools, expert guidance and community resources to help support student mental health, the news release said.

“Student well-being is a shared responsibility, and this partnership allows us to reach more families with meaningful, high-quality support,” District 204 Superintendent Adrian Talley said in the release. “By working together, our districts can expand access to trusted experts and resources while reinforcing the message that no family has to navigate these challenges alone.”

This year’s symposium will feature two keynote sessions, one for adults and one for students, the district said.

The adult keynote session, titled “Restoring Our Youth: Fostering Communication, Conversation and Connection,” will be presented by John Duffy, a Chicago-based clinical psychologist and author, and Cathy Cassani Adams, the co-host of the Zen POP podcast, founder of the Zen Parenting Conference and a former therapist at Lurie Children’s Hospital, per the news release.

The student keynote session, titled “ABBONDANZA! ‘Notice the Good,’” will be given by Eddie Slowikowski, a former USA Track & Field standout, according to the district.

The symposium will also have offerings like breakout sessions for adults and students, a resource fair and book fair, per the release. It will also provide complimentary lunch and child care. The first 500 adult attendees will receive a welcome bag, and the first 200 students to attend will receive a free T-shirt, organizers said. All adult attendees will also receive a copy of one of the keynote speakers’ books.

The event is open to the public, and registration is encouraged, the district said in the release. Individuals interested in attending can register at: https://mentalhealthwellnesssymposium.regfox.com/mhws-2026.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/district-204-partnering-with-other-local-school-districts-for-mental-health-symposium-in-aurora/ 

Por JULIA FRANKEL and STEVE DOUGLAS

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italia (AP) — Saca tu trapeador, unas cuantas ollas y sartenes — o una aspiradora robótica si tienes una — y un par de pantuflas.

¡Es hora de curling!

Las redes sociales han estado en ebullición con gente que usa utensilios domésticos comunes para imitar lo que hacen los mejores jugadores de curling del mundo en los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno.

Tara Peterson, jugadora estadounidense de curling, comenta: “Cada cuatro años, se vuelve viral. Todo el mundo dice: ‘Queremos hacerlo’, y luego, sí, se ponen creativos con las cosas, así que es genial”.

“Creativos” quizá se queda corto. En un video, dos adultos con chaquetas empujan a un bebé en una silla de auto sobre el hielo y chocan el pecho, felices. En otro, el popular comediante sueco Mans Moller se pone una peluca al estilo de Isabella Wrana, la campeona sueca de dobles mixtos, y desliza sartenes dentro de otras sartenes, gritando “¡CUUUURL!”. (Puntos extra: está afuera, como en los viejos tiempos del curling).

Luego están las nonnas italianas en la región sureña de Puglia, empujando una olla plateada por un patio empedrado y barriendo con escobas. O la peluquería en la ciudad sueca de Sundsvall, donde una estilista lanza productos para el cabello hacia su colega. Ella grita “¡Curl!” y se ve frustrada cuando la compañera se acerca con un rizador.

A pesar de estos valientes intentos del público, los jugadores de curling dicen que de verdad se necesita equipo especializado para practicar el deporte correctamente (además de una pista de hielo).

Ponte los zapatos de curling

No puedes usar tus tenis normales para jugar curling. Solo te resbalarás mucho sobre el hielo. En su lugar, necesitarás zapatos especiales de curling que tengan agarres incorporados en las suelas o que se puedan sujetar.

Los costos varían, pero la jugadora sueca Johanna Heldin señaló que puedes pagar hasta unos 700 dólares por ellos.

Los estilos también varían. Aunque la mayoría de los jugadores de curling en los Juegos Olímpicos llevan zapatos negros lisos, algunos tienen un aspecto más informal — como Taylor Anderson-Heide, de Estados Unidos, que se ha puesto zapatos blancos tipo tenis en Cortina.

Barriendo a la izquierda, barriendo a la derecha

A pesar de compartir el mismo nombre, las escobas de curling y las escobas de limpieza son muy diferentes.

Las escobas de curling cambian la fibra de carbono por las varas de madera o plástico típicas de las escobas domésticas. Las almohadillas de nailon sustituyen las cerdas de paja. Los modelos de nivel olímpico te costarán alrededor de 200 a 250 dólares, indicó Peterson.

La ligereza de la escoba se correlaciona directamente con el control que tiene un jugador sobre la velocidad y la trayectoria de una piedra. Cuanto más ligera es la escoba, más rápido se barre y más veloz es el derretimiento del hielo que compone una pista de curling.

De hecho, la tecnología de barrido ha avanzado tanto que ciertos modelos han sido prohibidos en competencia. Eso fue lo que llevó al escándalo de “Broomgate”, que sacudió al mundo del curling a partir de 2015.

Los jugadores empezaron a estrenar escobas de alta tecnología que daban a quienes barrían tanto control sobre la piedra que la habilidad de quien lanzaba dejaba de importar. Ese tipo de escobas fue prohibido en competencia por World Curling, que ahora mantiene parámetros estrictos sobre qué tipos de escobas están permitidos.

Rock ‘n’ roll

El curling casero que se ve en redes sociales deja clara una cosa: para el público, cualquier cosa puede ser una piedra de curling.

Aunque ollas, sartenes, productos para el cabello — e incluso bebés — pueden servir en un apuro, no se parecen en nada a las piedras de curling sobre el hielo en Cortina.

Si quieres material de nivel olímpico, tendrás que buscarlo en la isla deshabitada de Ailsa Cragi, ubicada a 10 millas (16 kilómetros) de la costa de Escocia.

Todas las piedras de estos Juegos están hechas del granito superdenso de esa isla, fabricadas por Kays Curling.

La empresa tiene una historia con los Juegos Olímpicos que se remonta a la primera edición invernal en 1924 en Chamonix, Francia. Entonces, durante mucho tiempo se pensó que la competencia de curling había sido un evento de exhibición, pero con el tiempo se confirmó como oficial. La compañía ha seguido fabricando piedras para los Juegos desde que el curling regresó como deporte con medallas en Nagano 1998.

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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/ollas-cubetas-y-hasta-bebs-todo-puede-ser-una-piedra-de-curling-si-eres-creativo/