Olympics Loom as Border Agents Exit Minneapolis Amid Kyiv Blackouts

2026 Winter Olympics to Commence in Milan and Cortina Amidst Global Events

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are set to begin on February 6 and continue until February 22, hosted across multiple sites in Lombardy and Northeast Italy, including Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, according to Vox. More than 3,500 athletes will participate in the Games.

Milan, a financial and fashion hub in northern Italy, will host ice sports such as figure skating and hockey, Time reported. Cortina, a resort town in an alpine valley in the Italian Dolomites, will host skiing, snowboarding, and other mountain events. This marks the first time the Winter Olympics are officially co-hosted by multiple cities, Time noted. Milan and Cortina won the bid in 2019, beating a joint bid from Stockholm and Åre in Sweden.

The Games will feature a range of sports, from ice hockey to newer competitions like ski mountaineering, Vox stated. Kai Laird, who leads a sport and performance psychology, said mindset is a huge part of what makes elite contenders elite.

The commencement of the Olympics occurs during a period of global challenges. In Kyiv, Ukraine, residents are facing a fourth brutal winter amid the ongoing war with Russia, NPR reported. Repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy grid have led to widespread heat and electricity blackouts, with candles becoming a last resort for light when emergency power sources fail, according to NPR. "February ... is sobbing," the Ukrainian poet said, hinting at loss.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the White House border czar Tom Homan announced that 700 federal immigration agents would be withdrawn after a month-long enforcement surge, Time reported. Homan stated that the drawdown was made possible by unprecedented cooperation between federal and local officials. He added that around 2,000 federal law enforcement officers would remain in the area. "This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement," he said. A complete pullback of federal agents would depend on Minnesotas cooperation.