Brazil Makes History! Olympics, Drama, and Speed!

American speedskater Jordan Stolz secured his second Olympic gold medal at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Saturday, setting a new Olympic record in the 500-meter race with a time of 33.77 seconds, according to Time magazine. The 2026 Winter Olympics, which began on February 4th and will continue through February 22nd, also saw Brazil win its first Winter Olympics medal, and a gold medal for the U.S. team in the team event, as reported by NPR News and CBS News.

Stolz's victory in the 500-meter race came after he had already won the 1000-meter event. His coach, Bob Corby, reminded Stolz before the race that he needed to "burn, like you've never burned before," according to Time. Stolz's performance was .11 seconds ahead of Dutch speedskater Jenning de Boo, who finished second. The games are taking place in Milano Cortina, Italy, with the U.S. facing a six-hour time difference from Eastern Standard Time, as reported by CBS News. Norway is currently leading the medal count.

In other news, Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won gold in the men's giant slalom, marking South America's first Winter Olympics medal, according to NPR News. This historic victory is expected to inspire future athletes. Also, Danny O'Shea and Ellie Kam secured a gold medal for the U.S. in the team event, after three decades of competitive skating, as reported by NPR News.

Meanwhile, five European governments – Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands – released a joint statement on Saturday, stating that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was almost certainly poisoned with epibatidine, a deadly toxin found in South American dart frogs, according to Time. The statement indicated that analysis of samples taken from Navalny's body confirmed the presence of the toxin, and that the Russian government was the likely culprit.