Domestic:
As the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off, the United States has the largest athlete count, with 235 competitors (including 3 alternates). Skier Breezy Johnson won Team USA’s first gold medal, placing first in the Women’s Downhill. In the same event, Lindsay Vonn, who had ruptured her ACL only a week before, crashed, ending her hope of achieving a medal. Ilia Malinin, skating for Team USA, successfully completed the first olympics-legal backflip in 50 years. He followed the feat up a day later by landing a backflip on one leg, helping Team USA to win gold. In mixed doubles curling, Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse earned silver, which marked the first time the U.S. had placed on the podium in that event. Ben Ogden also earned a silver medal in his event, the men’s cross country sprint classic, which the U.S. team last medaled in 50 years ago.
The last remaining U.S. – Russian nuclear arms treaty has expired. For the first time in over 50 years, the two countries no longer have a limit on the size of their nuclear arsenals. The United States has about 5,177 nuclear warheads in total, with approximately 3,700 active warheads, while Russia has an estimated 5,459 weapons (1,718 deployed), making both countries’ arsenals the largest in the world. While Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated an openness to extending the treaty, President Trump has insisted that China participates in new arms control talks between the superpowers.
International:
The investigation continues into last week’s suicide bomber attack on a mosque in a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. The attack left 31 people dead and at least 170 injured. In recent months, violent acts by both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, as well as ISIS-Khorasan have been increasing. These assaults are often on security personnel and civilians. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his condolences for the victims, saying, “targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity,” and that “the nation stands with the affected families in this difficult time.” Four people have been arrested in connection with the attack.
Jimmy Lai, a former Hong Kong media tycoon, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Chinese court. He was found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles and endanger national security. Lai was the founder of Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper that published stories critical of several government decisions in both Hong Kong and Beijing. He was arrested in 2020 and has been imprisoned since. Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director, has criticized Lai’s sentence, calling it cruel and unjust.
