Team USA figure skater Ilia Malinin made a triumphant return to the 2026 Winter Olympics ice after his disappointing 8th place finish.

Wearing a dark sweatshirt and distressed jeans, the Olympian performed at the figure skating exhibition gala on Saturday, February 21, to “Fear” by NF, batting away invisible demons as the music played during a skate that the athlete previously teased would represent the negative impact social media is proven to have on young people’s mental health.

After performing his signature backflip — a move that was illegal from 1977 to 2024 — the 21-year-old skater became visibly emotional as the crowed roared with applause.

“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” Malinin wrote after he failed to podium in the men’s free skate, shocking the figure skating world. “Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure.”

Related: Ilia Malinin Had ‘Traumatic’ Thoughts Before Shocking 8th Place Finish

After a heartbreaking performance in the men’s free skate final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, figure skating phenom Ilia Malinin said he felt “overwhelmed” in the moment. “It was really just something that overwhelmed me, and I just felt like I had no control,” Malinin said on Friday, February 13, after his shocking eight place […]

He continued, “It all builds up as these moments flash before our eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story. Coming February 21, 2026.”

Malinin, nicknamed the “Quad God,” missed the podium after the men’s free skate on February 13 at the 2026 Winter Olympics in a shocking upset that saw him finish in eighth place.

Malinin was the gold-medal favorite after finishing the short program, but the mistakes began almost as soon as he hit the ice for the free skate. After completing his first jump, a quadruple flip, Malinin attempted a quadruple axel but managed only a single.

He went on to fall twice and botched several other jumps, including a quad loop that turned into a double.

Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan ultimately won gold, with Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama finished with silver and Shun Sato, also from Japan, earned bronze. Shaidorov, 21, is Kazakhstan’s first-ever gold medalist in figure skating. Kagiyama, 22, previously won silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

“I was not expecting that,” Malinin told NBC after his shocking performance. “I felt so ready getting on that ice. Maybe I was too confident it was going to go well.”

Related: Figure Skater Ilia Malinin Speaks Out After Falling in Olympic Free Skate

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Days after he stumbled during his 2026 Olympics free skate, Ilia Malinin is taking some time to reflect. “On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” the figure skater, 21, captioned a montage of highlights via Instagram on Monday, February 16. “Even your happiest […]

Malinin is the only figure skater in history to successfully land a quadruple axel in competition, and it had never been done at the Olympics. He was expected to attempt the jump on Friday.

Malinin went on to admit that he felt “overwhelmed” in the moment leading up to his free skate final performance.

“It was really just something that overwhelmed me, and I just felt like I had no control,” he said on February 13. “Honestly, I still haven’t been able to process what just happened. It’s a lot of mixed motions. Going into this competition, I felt really good. This whole day, I felt very solid, and I jus thought that all I needed to do is go out there and trust the process that I’ve always been doing with every competition. But of course, it’s not like any other competition, it’s the Olympics.”

Authorities in Ohio have arrested and charged a former ‘American Idol’ contestant with shooting and killing his wife and staging the crime scene to mislead investigators. Caleb Flynn pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of murder, assault and tampering with evidence, per the Associated Press.

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What Is The ‘American Idol’ Contestant Accused Of Doing?

Caleb’s wife, Ashley Flynn, was found dead Monday (Feb. 16) after officers received a report of a burglary and shooting at a Tipp City home, according to a news release by Tipp City Police. Her husband and two children were inside the home when officers arrived. Ashley’s body was reportedly in the master bedroom, along with two empty gun shell casings from bullets for a 9mm handgun.

In a 911 call released by authorities, a frantic Caleb Flynn told a dispatcher someone broke into his home and killed his wife. He claimed the person shot Ashley Flynn twice in the head. Also, he said he didn’t know whether the intruder was still in the home.

“There’s blood everywhere, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” he says in the call, which can be heard in the KHOU11 video below.

Police arrested Flynn on Thursday, approximately three days after the Monday shooting. In a video of his arraignment from jail, the 39-year-old pleaded with Judge Samuel Huffman for his release. “I just want to take care of my daughters. I’m not a risk,” Caleb Flynn told Huffman. In the end, the judge set his bond at $2 million and said will be on house if bond is paid. The former ‘American Idol’ contestant will also be under a no contact order which includes not communicating through family.

Police Reacts To Flynn’s Lawyer Alleging A Rushed Case

On Saturday (Feb. 21), Attorney Patrick Mulligan said in a statement that he and the former ‘American Idol’ contestant felt “disappointed and concerned about the short timeline and seeming rush to judgment in this case.”

“When the government runs out of leads or can’t develop leads and looks at a surviving spouse in cases such as these, the chance of a wrongful conviction increases,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Tipp City Police Chief Greg Adkins defended the investigation, saying in an email on Saturday that it had “not moved fast.”

“Rather, it has progressed at a pace dictated by a thorough and deliberate investigative process,” Adkins said.

Fundraiser For Ashley Flynn’s Daughters Raises Over $100,000

The late Ashley Flynn was a middle school volleyball coach and substitute teacher, Tipp City Schools said on its Facebook page.

“She was known for her beautiful smile, warmth, kindness, and the positive impact she had on so many—both in and out of the classroom and on the court,” the post said. Our thoughts are with all who are grieving during this difficult time. 🤍

One day before Caleb Flynn’s arrest on Thursday, GoFundMe shared a Facebook post detailing the death of Ashley. At the time, her husband was not a public suspect. Therefore, the post preached that the funds were to help Caleb and their daughters “during this unimaginable time.” By that point, donors had raised $77,000 and as of Saturday the amount has surpassed $107,000.

The GoFundMe fundraiser description says the funds raised “will be transferred to an account managed by Ashley’s uncle, Rob Groeschen.” It adds: “These funds will be used for the benefit of Ashley’s daughters.”

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Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala contributed to this report via AP Newsroom. 

Roommates, the East Coast is possibly preparing for another L regarding severe weather. According to the Associated Press, a rapidly intensifying winter storm triggered blizzard warnings on Saturday for New York City, New Jersey, and Boston, and for additional states, as experts warn of heavy snow and damaging winds on Sunday.

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What To Expect From The New Winter Storm

On Saturday (Feb. 21), the National Weather Service upped the potential severity of the winter storm. Days earlier, experts had predicted the weather would be much milder.

Now, the weather service is saying 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible in many areas. Blizzard warnings went out for New York City and Long Island, Boston, and coastal communities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Flooding was also possible in parts of New York and New Jersey, the agency said.

“While we do get plenty of these nor’easters that produce heavy snow and strong impacts, it’s been several years since we saw one of this magnitude across this large of a region in this very populated part of the country,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center.

Meteorologist Snell said the winter storm would arrive Sunday morning in areas around Washington D.C. before stretching toward Philadelphia and New York City. By evening, it will reach Boston.

The weather service said the winter storm could begin as rainfall in some places before worsening. Also, the heaviest snow is expected to fall at night with as much as two inches of snow per hour at times in some areas, before tapering off by Monday afternoon.

The National Weather Service warned that the winter storm, with steady winds of 25 to 35 mph would “make travel dangerous, if not impossible.”

“Scattered downed tree limbs and power outages possible due to snow load and strong winds,” the weather service said.

New York Is Not Playing Any Games This Time

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would expand on efforts it used to deal with a major snowfall weeks ago. But officials held off on deciding whether to open schools Monday for the time being.

“We saw on Friday there was expectation that the likelihood was that we were going to face maybe 3 to 4 inches of snow. Quickly that then changed,” Mamdani said. “So we want to make sure that we make a decision based on up-to-date and accurate information.”

Still, New York brought in additional snow clearing equipment from outside the city. Additionally, it planned to increase use of geocoding to keep track of bus stops and crosswalks that need clearing, the mayor said.

How Are Other States & Its Cities Preparing?

Just when blocks of ice from the last snowstorm were finally melting away, this new storm is approaching!

With the winter storm zeroing in, John Berlingieri scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico to prepare his company, Berrington Snow Management, for snow removal in Long Island. His employees spent the last few days recharging batteries on the company’s 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers on snow removal vehicles. Saturday was a rest day for the crew. “I’m anticipating at least one week of work around the clock,” Berlingieri said.

Meanwhile, officials in Atlantic City, New Jersey, urged residents and casino visitors to stay off the streets, especially in low-lying neighborhoods prone to flooding.

“I could go on and on probably with a good two dozen streets where we know we will get water and there will be snow on top of that,” said Scott Evans, the city’s fire chief and emergency management coordinator. “So you won’t be able to see it until it’s too late, so therefore please stay at home.”

Many churches canceled Sunday services and other activities. To compensate, St. Veronica Parish in Howell, New Jersey, added an extra Mass on Saturday evening.

“Please stay safe, avoid unnecessary travel, and keep one another in prayer during the storm,” the Rev. Peter James Alindogan posted online.

RELATED: Oh, We Outside?! Social Media Is Cuttin’ Up With Posts About Acting UP When Winter Ends (PHOTOS)

Associated Press writers Adam Geller, Kathy McCormack, Julie Walker, and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report via AP Newsroom. 

Lindsey Vonn is addressing the haters… again.

“It wasn’t all for nothing… it wasn’t a dream… although sitting in this hospital bed it seems far away now…,” Vonn, 41, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 21, defending her decision to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics despite tearing her ACL nine days earlier.

“But I did it. I came back. I won,” she continued in the caption, shared alongside a highlight video of her recent races. “I showed up and did what most thought was impossible at my age with a partial knee replacement. These memories I’ll have forever and I’m grateful for every one of them. Every moment was amazing. Every moment was worth it.”

After tearing her ACL in a World Cup competition on January 30, Vonn decided to compete in the Olympics despite the athlete publicly confirming the ligament was “100 percent gone.”

Just 13 seconds into her first run of the Games on February 8, she broke her left tibia after clipping a flag and crashing out. She was airlifted off the course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and transported to a nearby hospital where she underwent four surgeries.

She returned to the United States on Tuesday, February 17, and underwent several additional surgeries.

Critics jumped on Vonn after the second injury, with some claiming she should not have competed in the Olympics after tearing her ACL and, instead, let someone else compete in her spot.

Vonn is having none of that, listing out her achievements in Saturday’s Instagram post.

“One thing that stung was when people said I was selfish and should give my Olympic spot to someone else,” she said in the post. “So… I just wanted to recap my season for all the haters out there that don’t understand what it means to earn your spot, and on a more positive note, to just reflect… #1 in the downhill standings; 3rd in sg standings; 2x Downhill wins; On every downhill podium all season; 7/8 podiums overall (only one 4th place).”

She continued, “It’s not impossible until it’s done. I didn’t reach my ultimate goal…. But I still did a lot. Thank you to those who believed! ❤️🙏🏻 #BELV.”

Vonn previously defended herself on social media after several people were questioning the extent of her ACL injury, even before breaking her leg at the Olympics.

“lol thanks doc,” Vonn posted via X on February 7, in response to a sports medicine doctor who was questioning the state of her injury. “My ACL was fully functioning until last Friday. Just because it seems impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s not possible. And yes, my ACL is 100% ruptured. Not 80% or 50%. It’s 100% gone.”

On Friday, Vonn shared a new photo of her broken leg, an x-ray showing what looks like a medal stabilizing brace on her bone.

“As you can see, it required a lot of plates and screws to put back together but Dr. Hackett did an incredible job,” Vonn posted via Instagram on Friday, along with a carousel of videos of her in the hospital with the x-ray photos. “Thank you Dr. Viola for the surgery assist as well!”

She acknowledged the struggle of her long recovery, saying she has not been on her feet in over a week.

Through it all, she claims her second, more grueling, injury had nothing to do with her original ACL tear.

“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash,” she shared via Instagram after the crash. “My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”

As far as genre fiction legends are concerned, William Shatner is near the top for his part as Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series. However, in the decades following his time as Kirk (a role that would define his entire career), Shatner pivoted from the far future to the (relatively) recent past for How the West Was Won. No, not the theatrically-released feature film that featured John Wayne, James Stewart, and Henry Fonda. We’re talking about the three-season television drama headlined by Gunsmoke star James Arness. And boy, did Shatner deliver in this harrowing Western tale.

William Shatner Stands Out In This Fabulous Performance on ‘How the West Was Won’

Appearing in the second season of the underrated three-season Western drama, Shatner shows up briefly at the end of “Orville Gant” as Captain Robert Harrison. However, it’s his performance in the following episode, “Amnesty,” that is especially of note. After mountain man Zeb Macahan (Arness) saves Beth Harrison (Vera Miles of Psycho fame), an old flame of his from decades earlier, he follows her to her secluded mountain home, where he encounters the old Union captain. As it turns out, Harrison, who had been presumed dead by the army after a Native American massacre, was blinded as a result of a battle against the group of warriors who had kidnapped Beth. As a result, Harrison has become somewhat suicidal, wishing to die or for Beth to leave him, despite her remaining faithful in the 20 years since.

Shatner is genuinely powerful here, showing off his dramatic acting chops and reminding audiences that he can play the serious part just as well (and perhaps even better than) his more pulp-inspired characters. The moment he recalls the battle that resulted in his blindness, there’s an intense shift in the way Shatner presents himself. His stone-cold demeanor captivates the viewer, and even the sound design changes so that we spiral into the captain’s uneasy headspace, hearing the horrors of war that he recalls every day of his life. It’s a brilliant technique that adds to the depth of his words as he meditates on the incident that has driven him nearly to madness and informed his life for the last two decades since. What Shatner is able to do here with this powerful monologue is indeed fantastic. “You know, the more I’m around you, Captain, the less I like you,” Zeb tells him the moment they meet, but Harrison feels the opposite.

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While the Star Trek icon may not be traditionally associated with the Western genre (though the franchise certainly delved into Old West territory, and no wonder, as Gene Roddenberry wrote for Have Gun — Will Travel before creating Star Trek), this is one performance that stands out among the rest of his filmography. It reminds us that there has always been more to Shatner than his work in the science fiction genre, be it as Captain Kirk or in The Twilight Zone. As Captain Harrison, Shatner dove deeper into the psychological recesses of the American frontier, highlighting some of the most uncomfortable aspects of westward expansion while exploring the deep-seated issues of a man who has failed to let go of his last battle.

‘How the West Was Won’ Was Notable For Its Impressive Guest Stars

After launching with a made-for-TV feature titled The Macahans, How the West Was Won was picked up as an official series by ABC soon after Gunsmoke came to a close. In that time, the Western epic pulled in plenty of big names for guest stints in its 28 separate 90-minute episodes. From classical Western TV stars like Lloyd Bridges of The Loner fame and Jack Elam of The Dakotas to other big stars like Christopher Lee and Michael Conrad from Hill Street Blues. While William Shatner was one of the biggest of these names (barring Lee, of course, who played a visiting Russian politician), there was never any shortage of recognizable faces on the late ’70s Western program. For goodness’ sake, Tron legend Bruce Boxleitner was one of its leading stars, as was Fionnula Flanagan in the second and third seasons.

Although not a man known for venturing too often into Western territory — save for movies like White Comanche and some guest appearances on Gunsmoke, The Virginian, and The Big Valley — William Shatner proved his ability within the genre here on How the West Was Won. Without even leaving the confines of his hidden cabin home, Shatner’s Captain Harrison made such an impact on the series in his brief 20-minutes of screentime that he’s still talked about by fans all these years later.

Tennis Star Sloane Stephens
My Husband, Jozy Altidore, and I Are Done!!!

Published
February 21, 2026
5:57 PM PST