Curling: Duluth pair will play for first U.S. mixed doubles gold

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Duluth is returning to the Olympic curling medal podium, and taking the United States with it.

The Duluth Curling Club team of Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse knocked Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse guaranteed the U.S. its first Olympic medal in mixed doubles curling, reaching the final Monday with a 9-8 victory over defending champion Italy.

Thiesse was on target for a takeout on the final throw of the game, which ejected the closest Italian stone, netted the U.S. two points and sent them into the gold medal game Tuesday at 11 a.m. CST vs. Sweden.

United States’ Korey Dropkin competes, during the semi-finals round of the mixed doubles curling match against Italy, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

“We just kept making shots, countering their makes. We got a big opportunity in that sixth end and my all-star here capitalized,” Dropkin said in a postgame interview with NBC. “Oh, my gosh, what a day. We’re going for gold.”

The U.S. and Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner played Monday morning in the final match of the round-robin, and in that instance it was Constantini who had the walk-off shot for a 7-6 victory in a game the US trailed 6-2 after five ends.

In the evening semifinal, before another partisan crowd, it was the Americans who were the better squad. Thiesse was rated at 92% accuracy, while both Italians were at or below 75%. However, Constantini delivered on the last shot of several ends to get her team out of trouble.

The U.S. achieved its first lead when Thiesse used a deft touch to complete a score of three for a 5-4 lead to complete the fourth end. After that, momentum shifted further in their favor as Italy got into big trouble in end five. Constantini bailed them out to claim a single point, but the Americans now had the advantage, which they pressed to score two more points in the sixth.

That lasted until the seventh and penultimate end, when a U.S. mistake failed to clear out enough Italian stones and left the defending champions an open hit for three points and the lead.

Still, going to the eighth, the Americans had the last throw advantage and the “power play,” a situation unique to mixed doubles curling in which each team gets one chance to pre-position stones to its advantage.

“I was shaking a little bit, but the whole end I knew Korey was going to put me in a position to have a shot to win the game,” Thiesse said. “I was just getting ready for that and visualizing that. When the rock came to a stop, I just knew that we had it. Korey gave me a ton of confidence, and I knew we weren’t missing it.”

The U.S. deployed its power play in the final end, shifting the action out of the middle and to the throwers’ right wing. With her last throw, Constantini knocked the closest American stone out of the rings but hit it too square to roll to a covered position alongside the others.

That gave Thiesse an opening to execute a similar shot. Hers did roll to the outside, giving American fans a nervous moment for a second, but it jammed against an Italian stone and remained in play to clinch the win.

In the post-game interview Dropkin noted that the result guarantees that Thiesse will be the first American woman to win a medal in Olympic curling, which has been in the Games since 1998. She also is a member of the U.S. women’s team, which begins play on Thursday against South Korea.

This marks the third time an American team has medaled in Olympic competition. In 2006, Pete Fenson’s bronze-winning men’s rink included John Shuster of the Duluth Curling Club, while Shuster skipped the 2018 Olympic champions in Pyeongchang.

Which medal Thiesse and Dropkin will earn is to be decided Tuesday. Team Sweden siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wrana delivered a stunning 9-3 rout in the other semifinal against a Great Britain team that had dominated the round-robin phase of the competition. The US defeated Sweden by an 8-7 score in the penultimate round-robin game on Sunday night.

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Cuba says airlines can no longer refuel on the island as US blockade deepens energy crisis

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By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ, Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there isn’t enough fuel for airplanes to refuel on the island, the latest step in its moves to ration energy as the Trump administration cuts the Caribbean nation off from its fuel resources.

The government of Cuba published the notices to airlines and pilots on Sunday night, warning that jet fuel won’t be available at nine airports across the island, including José Martí International Airport in Havana, starting Tuesday and continuing until March 11.

Political pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on Latin America has effectively severed Cuba’s access to its primary petroleum sources in Venezuela and Mexico.

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In late January, Trump signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that could further cripple an island plagued by a deepening energy crisis.

While the rationing may not disrupt shorter regional flights, it presents a significant challenge for long-haul routes from countries like Russia and Canada — a critical pillar of Cuba’s tourism economy.

On Monday, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to the island, while other airlines announced delays and layovers in the Dominican Republic before flights continued to Havana.

One pilot added that while refueling issues have occurred before, an official announcement of this scale is extraordinary even for an island accustomed to perpetual crisis. The last time such cuts occurred — more than a decade ago — aircraft bound for Europe refueled in Nassau, Bahamas, the pilot recalled. Now, regional airlines could avoid problems by bringing extra fuel, while others could refuel in Cancun, Mexico, or in the Dominican Republic.

It remains unclear how long the notice will remain in effect and Cuban officials have made no public comments on the matter.

The fuel shortage deals another blow to a country that relies heavily on tourism, an industry that once generated $3 billion in annual revenue and served as a vital economic lifeline.

Cuban officials also announced Monday that bank hours have been reduced and cultural events suspended. In Havana, the public bus system has effectively ground to a halt, leaving residents stranded as endemic power outages and grueling fuel lines reach a breaking point.

The energy emergency has forced the suspension of major events like the Havana International Book Fair this weekend and a restructuring of the national baseball season for greater efficiency. Some banks have cut operating hours and fuel distribution companies said they would no longer sell gas in Cuban pesos — and that sales will be made in dollars and limited to 5.28 gallons per user.

The latest measures add to others announced Friday, including cuts to bus transportation and limited train departures.

On Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel delivered a two-hour televised address, acknowledging the impact and warning that measures would be taken in the coming days.

U.S. sanctions against Cuba have been in place for more than six decades and have long stunted Cuba’s economy. But they reached new extremes after a U.S. military operation deposed former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and Trump began to take an even more confrontational tone toward Latin America.

For many Cubans, the crisis has translated into power outages lasting up to 10 hours, fuel shortages for vehicles, and a lack of food or medicine that many compare to the severe economic depression in the 1990s known as the Special Period that followed cuts in aid from what was then the Soviet Union.

Associated Press journalists Joshua Funk in Omaha, Nebraska and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Top prospects, familiar veteran among Twins’ non-roster invites

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They’re not expected to make the team out of camp, but the Twins have invited two of their top prospects — Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper — to major league camp, highlighting a list of 22 non-roster invites.

Jenkins, 20, is among the best prospects in the game and is knocking on the doorstep after a successful 2025 season that concluded at Triple-A St. Paul.

While general manager Jeremy Zoll said before TwinsFest last month that the plan is to send him back to St. Paul to continue his development, it’s possible Jenkins could work his way into the Twins’ plans later this season.

Culpepper, 23, was the Twins’ first-round pick a year after Jenkins and also is coming off of a strong 2024 season, one that he finished at Double-A Wichita.

Other position players joining the Twins in camp include: Aaron Sabato, also a former first-round pick; Orlando Arcia, a former major league all-star and the brother of former Twin Oswaldo Arcia; Tanner Schobel, Kyler Fedko, Kala’i Rosario and Gio Urshela.

Veteran infielder Urshela, 34, played for the Twins in 2022, coming over in the trade that sent Josh Donaldson to the New York Yankees. He played in 59 games last season for the Athletics but was released in August.

They’re joined by a handful of non-roster catchers, including David Bañuelos, Noah Cardenas, Andrew Cossetti, Ricardo Olivar and Pat Winkel.

On the pitching side, the Twins — still trying to rebuild the bullpen after last year’s trade deadline — have invited nine non-roster hurlers to camp, several with major league experience. That group includes right-handers Dan Altavilla, Trent Baker, Andrew Bash, Matt Bowman, Raul Brito, Matt Canterino, Grant Hartwig and Cory Lewis, and lefty Christian MacLeod.

Altavilla (Italy), Matt Bowman (Israel) and Urshela (Colombia) will leave partway through camp to compete in the World Baseball Classic. They are among a group of players headed to the tournament that also includes Byron Buxton (USA), Joe Ryan (USA), Pablo López (Venezuela) and Taj Bradley (Mexico). Their absences could mean that some of the non-roster invites get a longer-than-usual look in major league camp.

Twins pitchers and catchers will have their first workout in Fort Myers, Fla., on Thursday, with the first full squad workout set for Monday.

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PODCAST: ¿Cómo ha sido el primer año del presidente Trump en materia migratoria?

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En solo un año, la administración ha logrado más reformas que en todo su primer término con más de 500 medidas en materia de inmigración, superando las 472 medidas adoptadas durante los cuatro años del primer mandato de Trump, según el Migration Policy Institute.

El presidente Donald Trump habla con la secretaria de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, durante una visita al centro de detención de inmigrantes el martes 1 de julio de 2025, en Ochopee, Florida. (Foto oficial de la Casa Blanca por Daniel Torok)

Inmediatamente después de regresar a la oficina, la segunda administración del presidente Donald Trump impulsó cambios radicales en la política de inmigración, luego de prometer el mayor programa de deportación en la historia de Estados Unidos durante su campaña presidencial.

En solo un año, la administración ha logrado más reformas que en todo su primer término con más de 500 medidas en materia de inmigración, superando las 472 medidas adoptadas durante los cuatro años del primer mandato de Trump, según el Migration Policy Institute.

La administración se ha apoyado en gran medida en medidas ejecutivas en lugar de buscar cambios legislativos en el Congreso.

Rápidamente, la administración puso como objetivo revocar la ciudadanía por nacimiento, declaró emergencia nacional en la frontera sur, donde los encuentros entre inmigrantes y la Patrulla Fronteriza han caído a su nivel más bajo en más de 50 años, según un análisis del Pew Research Center.

Con el cierre de la frontera, la administración se ha centrado en acciones migratorias en el interior del país, desplegando operativos especiales en ciudades como Los Ángeles, Chicago, y recientemente Minnesota.

Desde que Trump llegó al poder, el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE por sus siglas en inglés) ha detenido a un número cuatro veces mayor de inmigrantes que antes, mientras que el promedio diario de inmigrantes en detención se ha duplicado.

Los funcionarios de la administración insisten en que persiguen a los delincuentes y a los peores entre los peores.

Sin embargo, la mayoría de las personas detenidas en 2025 no tienen antecedentes penales. Según los datos recabados por el Deportation Data Project, únicamente el 7 por ciento de los arrestados han sido condenados por un delito violento.

ProPublica publicó un video resumiendo las acciones del primer año del segundo mandato de Trump. Así que para hablar sobre el primer año del presidente Trump en materia migratoria, invitamos a Perla Trevizo, de ProPublica y The Texas Tribune.

Más detalles en nuestra conversación a continuación.

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