Malinin's Quad Feats Stun Olympics!

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics officially kicked off in Milan, Italy, with a dazzling opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium, featuring a parade of nations and performances by renowned artists, including Mariah Carey, who sang "Volare" entirely in Italian. Over 2,900 athletes from 92 countries, including a large contingent from the United States, are set to compete in the games, according to multiple news sources.

The opening ceremony, which highlighted the event's theme of harmony, also included a tribute to Giorgio Armani, reflecting a blend of sport, fashion, and national heritage, as reported by Variety. Figure skating is a key event at the Olympics, and American Ilia Malinin, 21, is the heavy favorite to win the gold medal for the United States, according to Vox. Malinin is considered a "quad god" and is on track to make Olympic history, with the potential to improve even further.

While the games commenced, other global events were also unfolding. Multiple news sources reported that Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev was shot and wounded in Moscow. Simultaneously, the U.S. and Russia are now without a treaty limiting their nuclear arsenals after the New START agreement expired, with both nations disagreeing on the terms of a new agreement and the inclusion of other nuclear powers, as reported by Fox News.

The Olympics will feature a variety of sports, including cross-country skiing, with Jessie Diggins preparing for her final Olympics, according to Time. The games also highlight developments in sports such as luge and figure skating. The report also highlighted emerging cybersecurity threats, specifically the IAM pivot attack chain, where attackers exploit recruitment fraud to compromise cloud credentials and steal cryptocurrency, according to Time.