MON SIX

Milan-Cortina Olympics Protest

The protesters "demonstrate 'against the Olympics,' causing these images to end up on televisions around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent the trains from leaving," Meloni said in a statement on Facebook, adding that thousands of Italians are working to keep the Games running smoothly, many of whom are volunteers.

"Solidarity, once again, with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals," she said.

Italy's transport ministry said it has opened a terrorism investigation into the synchronized sabotage of railway lines in northern Italy on Saturday, the first day of the Games.

No one has claimed responsibility, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The alleged sabotage first hit the central Bologna hub, which governs rail traffic between northern and southern Italy, around 6 a.m. Saturday when it was still dark out, ANSA reported. It then struck Pesaro-area trains along the Adriatic coast.

Infrastructure was burned or cut to cause the sabotage in both cases, the news agency said.

The transport ministry didn't provide details, but said it would seek millions of euros in compensation from the perpetrators. Thousands of passengers were impacted by the hourslong delays.

In Milan, Italian police fired tear gas and a water cannon on Saturday evening at dozens of protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near aWinter Olympicsvenue. The brief confrontation came at the end of a peaceful march by thousands against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence ofU.S. agents in Italy.

The skirmish comes days after Meloni's governmentapproved a security decreethat allows police to detain people for up to 12 hours when there are reasonable grounds to believe they may act as agitators and disrupt peaceful protests. Opposition lawmakers criticized the measure as an attack on freedom of expression.

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Peaceful protest is legitimate, but "we draw a line at violence," International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said during the IOC's daily media briefing. "That has no place at the Olympic Games."

Police on Saturday held off the violent demonstrators, who appeared to be trying to reach the Santagiulia Olympic ice hockey rink, after the skirmish. By then, the larger peaceful protest, including families with small children and students, had dispersed.

At the earlier, larger demonstration, which police said numbered 10,000, people carried cardboard cutouts to represent trees felled to build the new bobsled run in Cortina. A group of dancers performed to beating drums. Music blasted from a truck leading the march, one a profanity-laced anthem against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Beforehand, a group of masked protesters had set off smoke bombs and firecrackers on a bridge overlooking a construction site about 800 meters (a half-mile) from the Olympic Village that's housing around 1,500 athletes.

The demonstration coincided with U.S. Vice President JD Vance's visit to Milan as head of the American delegation. Vance and his family visitedLeonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"closer to the city center, far from the protest, which also was against the deployment of ICE agents to provide security to the U.S. delegation.

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. The ICE arm at theforefront of the immigration crackdownin the U.S. is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication its officers are being sent to Italy.

The demonstration on Saturday followedanother one last week, when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.

Like last week, demonstrators Saturday said they were opposed to ICE agents' presence, despite official statements that a small number of agents from an investigative arm would be present in U.S. diplomatic territory, and not operational on the streets.

AP Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Morgan McSweeney said he took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson, 72, to Britain's most important diplomatic post in 2024.

"The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself," McSweeney said in a statement. "When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice."

Starmer is facing a political storm and questions about his judgement after newly published documents, part ofa huge trove of Epstein filesmade public in the United States, suggested that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to the convicted sex offender when he was the U.K. government's business secretary during the 2008 financial crisis.

Starmer's government has promised to release its own emails and other documentation related to Mandelson's appointment, which it says will show that Mandelson misled officials.

The prime minister apologized this week for "having believed Mandelson's lies."

He acknowledged that when Mandelson was chosen for the top diplomat job in 2024, the vetting process had revealed that Mandelson's friendship with Epstein continued after the latter's 2008 conviction. But Starmer maintained that "none of us knew the depth of the darkness" of that relationship at the time.

A number of lawmakers said Starmer is ultimately responsible for the scandal.

"Keir Starmer has to take responsibility for his own terrible decisions," said Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party.

Mandelson, a former Cabinet minister, ambassador and elder statesman of the governing Labour Party, has not been arrested or charged.

Metropolitan Police officers searched Mandelson's London home and another property linked to him on Friday. Police said the investigation is complex and will require "a significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis."

The U.K. police investigation centers on potential misconduct in public office, and Mandelson is not accused of any sexual offenses.

Starmer hadfired Mandelsonin September from his ambassadorial job over earlier revelations about his Epstein ties. But critics say the emails recently published by the U.S. Justice Department have brought serious concerns about Starmer's judgment to the fore. They argue that he should have known better than to appoint Mandelson in the first place.

The new revelations include documents suggesting Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Epstein after the 2008 global financial crisis. They also include records of payments totaling $75,000 in 2003 and 2004 from Epstein to accounts linked to Mandelson or his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva.

Aside from his association with Epstein, Mandelson previously had to resign twice from senior government posts because of scandals over money or ethics.

Starmer had faced growing pressure over the past week to fire McSweeney, who is regarded as a key adviser in Downing Street and seen as a close ally of Mandelson.

Starmer on Sunday credited McSweeney as a central figure in running Labour's recent election campaign and the party's 2004 landslide victory. His statement did not mention the Mandelson scandal.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians in Ukraine face several days of extreme cold with very little heat and light, after sustained Russian drone and missile attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.

In the capital, Kyiv, temperatures well below zero and bitterly cold winds are expected for the next four days at least.

"We must get through the next few days, which will be very difficult for Kyiv," the city's mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said Sunday. "Severe frosts are again forecast in the capital, especially at night," he said onTelegram.

Klitschko said Ukraine's energy infrastructure was in "an extremely difficult situation" and that he had issued instructions for communal "heating points," powered by generators, to be fully functional. Some of these shelters allow people to stay overnight.

According to the energy ministry, residents of the capital are receiving electricity only for one and a half to two hours a day.

During a Russian strike in early January, one Kyiv resident who lived in an apartment at the top of a 16–story building at the time said he and his wife had lost heating, power and water.

The next Russian strike hit the power plant providing heat to the apartment block, as well as 1,100 other buildings in the capital, and he said about half of the residents had moved out of the building, including his family.

The average temperature in the apartment had fallen to just 3 degrees Celsius (37.4 degrees Fahrenheit), he added.

Residents were told that repairs could take two months – during the coldest part of the year.

Businesses also suffer. The Backstage Beauty Salon network says it invested $400,000 in back-up systems, including generators, fuel and batteries. But a drone had hit one of its salons, shattering a heating pipe and flooding the premises.

"Despite all this spending, weather conditions and Russian attacks prevail over the system," the company posted on Instagram Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said onTelegramSunday: "Almost every day, the (Russians) strike energy facilities, logistics infrastructure, and residential buildings… Over 2,000 strike drones, 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 116 missiles of various types were launched by Russia at our cities and villages this week alone."

Ukrenergo, the national grid company,said Sundaythat it continued dealing with the aftermath of two massive missile and drone attacks on the power grid this week.

"The level of power shortages and damage to the electricity transmission and distribution networks currently prevents the lifting of emergency blackouts in most regions," but repair work had made power cuts less severe in some regions, it said.

"Restoration work is continuing at both power plants and high-voltage substations that supply power to nuclear power plants."

Another Ukrainian power operator, DTEK, said Saturday that damage to high-voltage substations had caused a reduction in output at nuclear power plants, leading to a significant loss of available electricity.

The latest Russian strikes followed a short-lived moratorium on attacks by each side on the other's energy infrastructure, agreed at the urging of the United States.

Zelensky said Saturday that Washington had proposed "that both sides once again support the US President's energy de-escalation initiative. Ukraine has agreed, but Russia has not yet responded."

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Saturday: "The fact that Russia conducted two sets of strikes with over 400 projectiles within six days of the lapse of the energy strikes moratorium demonstrates the Kremlin's determination to maximize the suffering of Ukrainian civilians and unwillingness to de-escalate the war or seriously advance the US-initiated peace negotiations."

"Russian forces have also modified their drones and missiles to inflict more damage, including by equipping Shahed drones with mines and cluster munitions, and such measures have disproportionately affected civilian and energy infrastructure," the institute added.

The consequences of Russian strikes are aggravated in many urban areas by reliance on centralized heating systems, a legacy of the Soviet era. Heat is generated at thermal or combined heat and power plants before being distributed, so if such facilities are targeted many residential blocks are impacted.

The destruction of central heating pipes can affect an entire neighborhood. When temperatures drop below freezing, a long power outage can lead underground heating pipes to fracture if the water inside them freezes.

Some analysts have noted that Russia's war planners try to take advantage of this vulnerability in their targeting.

"I think the Russian military is being advised by their energy specialists and they are explaining how to cause maximum damage to the energy system," DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said in 2022.

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Martin Chivers, soccer, 1945-2026

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Sports figures we lost in 2026

Wilburn was 62.

Television station WMC in Memphis reportsthat the Memphis Fire Department responded to a fire call in Orange Mound, Tenn., around 2 a.m. Friday morning. Firefighters found a victim unresponsive in a rear hallway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

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A standout defensive back at Ole Miss, Wilburn was selected in the eighth round of the 1985 NFL draft. He spent the first five years of his NFL career in Washington, where he led the NFL with nine interceptions in 1987 and was named first-team All-Pro.

Wilburn recorded an interception of Denver quarterback John Elway in Washington's 42-10 victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl 22.

Wilburn also played for theCleveland Brownsin 1992 and for two seasons with thePhiladelphia Eaglesin 1995 and 1996.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Super Bowl champion DB Barry Wilburn dies in Tennessee house fire

Pearce crashed his car during a police chase while trying to avoid arrest, according to Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez.

Following the police chase, Pearce was arrested Saturday evening and charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated stalking, all connected to domestic violence, according to online records. He was also charged with aggravated battery of an officer, fleeing or eluding police with lights and siren and resisting an officer without violence to his person.

The nature of Pearce and Jackson's relationship was not immediately clear.

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Pearce is an NFL rookie who was picked in the first round of the 2025 draft by the Falcons. In a statement, the Falcons said they were "aware of an incident" involving Pearce in Miami.

"We are in the process of gathering more information and will not have any further comment on an open legal matter at this time," the statement read.

Video circulating on social media and confirmed by the Doral Police Department showed Pearce being tackled to the ground and taken into custody by multiple officers.

Representatives for Jackson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jackson was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks as the fourth overall pick in 2024, going on to create a name for herself in the WNBA averaging 14.7 points in 38 games in the 2025 season.

Pearce is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and is expected to have his first court appearance on Sunday.

Tatum is still recovering from rupturing his Achilles tendon last May during a playoff series with the New York Knicks. Tatum still has several benchmarks to clear from his recovery and there remains no timetable for his return, ESPN reported. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on Jan. 29 thatTatum is considering sitting outfor the entire 2025-2026 season.

Charania reported that Tatum wants to come back as close to 100 percent as possible. Last season, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

Part of Tatum's reluctance to return has been how well the Celtics have played without him. The Celtics are second in the East at 34-18 and currently on a five-game winning streak.

"That's something I contemplate every day," Tatum said on thePivot Podcast. "More so about the team, if or when I do come back this season, they would've played 50 some-odd games without me. So they have an identity this year or things that they felt have clicked for them, and it's been successful, right, third or second team in the East up to this point. So there is a thought in my head that's like, how does that work or hows does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season? There could obviously be some challenges and it is a thought, like damn? Do I come back or should I wait? It's something that I honestly, recently in the last two weeks or so, just kind of contemplate every single day."

Jaylen Brown is also in the midst of a career season. He is averaging 29.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Brown was recently selected for his fifth All-Star Game.

Derrick White and Payton Pritchard have also increased their scoring numbers, with both guards scoring over 17 points per game. The team also acquired big man Nikola Vučević in a trade with the Chicago Bulls.

"It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown's passing after a brief illness," the band posted toInstagram. "Greg was an integral part of CAKE's early sound and development. His creative contributions were immense, and his presence—both musical and personal—will be deeply missed. Godspeed, Greg."

Fans grieved the loss of the beloved guitarist, with his daughter,Adri Brown, writing that Greg was "the best dad I could've asked for." Another fan commented. "One of the greatest guitar players, in my personal opinion. He will live on in the history he's made and the musicians he's inspired."

Greg Brown Wrote Cake's Biggest Hit, 'The Distance'

Greg co-founded the band in 1991 along with singerJohn McCrea,bassistShon Meckfessel,drummerFrank Frenchand trumpeterVince DiFiore. He played on their first two albums, 1994'sMotorcade of Generosityand what would become their breakthrough album, 1996'sFashion Nugget. Greg was the sole writer behind the album's lead single, "The Distance."

Opening with John McCrea's deadpan vocals ("Reluctantly crouched and the starting line…"), the song became a staple of alternative rock radio, reaching No. 4 on the US Alternative Airplay charts and No. 38 on the Mainstream Rock charts. It's undeniably their most successful song: theRIAAcertified it 2x Platinum in 2022.

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The song was recorded in one take. It's one of the very few Cake originals that didn't involve John McCrea in the writing process. "[McCrea] took to it right away, and I didn't really understand what he saw in it so much," said Brown in 2021, speaking in aFashion Nugget25th anniversary feature forBillboard. "I liked the way it sounded and everything, but I thought 'Frank Sinatra' was a much stronger choice for the single. But the record label chose it, and it worked out."

"It is a song aboutsuccessand failure, and failure of success, really," McCrea said when appearing onProfessor of Rock. "It's a sad song, because there is no success. You can explode into the world with great magnificence, and still feel like the guy underneath theMickey Mousehead, with the fan batteries that have stopped working properly, and it's dark under there, and everybody wants your autograph."

Greg Brown left Cake in 1997. "I might have told you one thing back when I was 27 years old, and I left hot headed and mad about what I considered to be irreconcilable personality problems or whatever," Brown toldBillboardin 2021.. "As 51-year-old me, I see a much larger context of what was going on in my life. Rather than get into all of it, I would just say there was a lot of turmoil at the time, and I felt like leaving Cake would be a decision that would be good for my health."

After Cake, Greg Brown played in bandsDeathrayandHomie. In recent years, Greg repaired his relationship with the band, even playing on Cake's 2011 album,Showroom of Compassion.

Related: Beloved Alternative Rock Frontman Dies at 47 After Courageous Cancer Battle

This story was originally published byParadeon Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in theNewssection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.