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APTOPIX Milan Cortina Olympics Ice Hockey

The opening monologue for "Saturday Night Live," of all things, was about to become a turning point in a national celebration that had somehow gone sideways in the week after the U.S. won Olympic gold in men's and women's hockey. Instead of basking in the glory of twice beating rival Canada in overtime, players like Hilary Knight and Megan Kelleron the women's sideand Jack and Quinn Hugheson the men's sidewere fielding questions about politics and sexism.

Executive producer Lorne Michaels told the players the show was going to have some fun with the situation.

President Donald Trump joking on a call with the men that he'd get impeached if he didn't also invite the women to the White House drew laughter from some of the players andplenty of criticism. Their appearance at the State of the Union address — after thewomen's team declinedfor logistical reasons — alsoderailed the headlines and conversation further into politics.

The celebration limped along to the weekend, where"Heated Rivalry"star Connor Storrie was hosting "SNL." Late in the monologue, he told the hockey stars how cool it was that they were all there together andKnight delivered a linefor the ages:

"It was going to be just us," Knight said, "but we thought we'd invite the guys, too."

Applause and laughter lit up the studio along with wide smiles —Jack's gap-toothed version, too— from those on stage. Two nights later, the Hughes brothers and Knight shared a couple of fist-bumps on"The Tonight Show" after Jimmy Fallonreminded them they all just won gold at the Olympics.

The good humor helped reset a national narrative that had threatened to taint the milestone moment as the U.S. celebrated its first twin hockey golds in history.

Getting from awkwardness to relief took a lot of work, according to interviews by The Associated Press, with dozens of people at multiple agencies, leagues and networks coordinating a a plan to put the focus back on the teams' accomplishments in Milan.

The path to prime time started long before gold was assured

On Feb. 19, a couple of hours afterKeller's overtime goal beat Canada, employees with the Professional Women's Hockey League reached out to NBC — the major rights holder for the Olympics in the United States, to gauge possibilities for a well-deserved victory lap. USA Hockey, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Wasserman, the agency that represents Knight, quickly got involved.

One night later, whenthe U.S. and Canada reachedthe men's final, NHL VP of corporate communications Nirva Milord finalized a grid of every player on the two teams and his schedule for the following two weeks. While the Games were ongoing in Italy, Milord was plotting out how to move fast after Sunday's gold medal game with the NHL schedule resuming on Wednesday back in North America.

"We had to know when they were going to be off because obviously they're not going miss a game," NHL president of content and events Steve Mayer said.

Jack Hughes' OT goalcame just before 11 a.m. Eastern Sunday. Pat Brisson, who represents all three Hughes brothers as a key agent for Creative Arts Agency, was swamped with requests.

"When Jack scored the goal, we got so many calls," Brisson said, estimating somewhere between 50 and 75 requests for appearances.

Among them on that busy day was an ask from "Saturday Night Live," which wanted the golden goal-scorer. Jack Hughes alongside brother Quinn was a perfect fit, and so was the combination of Knight and Keller.

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"Nirva had the relationship at 'Saturday Night Live' and immediately put it into action because we knew right off the bat, 'Hey, let's take this and run with it,'" Mayer said. "These are moments that when you have those opportunities, you seize on them."

There were plenty of unforeseen roadblocks along the way

Before flying home, men's and women's players enjoyed a moment back in the dining hall at the athletes' village following the closing ceremony, with gold medals hanging around all their necks.

"We're telling stories, have a few drinks and just countless laughs," forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "It's been unbelievable, celebrating with them — them winning firstwas a great motivator for us— and just becoming close with a lot of the girls on the team."

The plan all along was for everyone to fly from Milan to New York, the perfect place for mainstream media attention for a sport that often takes a back seat to the NFL and NBA in the U.S.

Mother Nature had other plans, with a blizzard bearing down on parts of the East Coast. The U.S. women were diverted to Atlanta and a decision was made to shift the destination ofthe charter flights carrying the NHL playersto Miami. By then, Trump's comment had become a talking point along with his invite to Tuesday night's State of the Union speech.

A majority of the U.S. men's team decided to go to Washington for a visit to the White House and the speech, throwing another wrench into the post-party planning. The women had long made plans to head home and were not going. Suddenly, scheduling was more complicated than anyone anticipated.

How it all went down

After Trump's speech, the players scattered to their teams with games to play, but the stars also had to keep some attention on media obligations.

Keller and Jack Hughes each did "The Pat McAfee Show" on ESPN, with their agencies working to get them booked. Knight appeared on "CBS Mornings," along with llona Maher's podcast, "House of Maher."

NBC had agreed quickly about "SNL" and "The Tonight Show." It was just a matter of making sure it could happen.

Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild played Friday night in Utah, so he had some breathing room.Knight was on the injured listafter tearing a ligament in one of her knees during the Olympics, but she still wanted to be there Friday night for the return of her PWHL team, the Seattle Torrent, after the break, so she took a red eye to New York.

Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils played Saturday afternoon in St. Louis, then was whisked out of the arena and on to owner David Blitzer's private plane for a flight to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Then came a helicopter ride into the city and a ride to Rockefeller Center.

Keller and the Boston Fleet were playing in Ottawa. She managed to make it in time, thanks to some transportation fortune.

Lights, camera and a spectacular save of hockey's moment on the global stage followed. Knight and Keller did a costume change for the end of the show from "USA" to their PWHL jerseys, the Hughes family got to spend time with Michaels, and much of the angst melted away.

"The best couple weeks of my life," Jack said. "To be on that and share it with the women's team, the men's team was just a pretty cool moment."

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

Wynn, who is finishing her fifth season with the Volunteers, has appeared in nine games this season after missing the entire 2024-25 season with an Achilles injury. She did not appear in the home finale, an 87-77 loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday, although she claims she was asked to sub in for the final seconds and refused.

"This decision was not made lightly or instantly," Wynn wrote on social media. "For the past five years I have given my all for Tennessee and have not regretted doing so once. Obviously, my last two seasons on the team have been less than ideal for many reasons, but the one night I was most looking forward to was senior night.

"As someone who has never started a career game, l was hoping to start in my last appearance in Thompson-Boling. That obviously did not happen, and to be asked to check into the game with 15 seconds left while losing was not how I wanted to spend my final moments in my arena after five years. Although that was not the sole reason, it was the breaking point for me. I have the utmost love and respect for my teammates and this program and wish everyone nothing but the best."

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Wynn has appeared in 102 games for Tennessee, averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. She averaged career highs of 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 13.4 minutes per game in 2023-24.

The guard originally signed to play for Kellie Harper, who was fired after the 2023-24 season and replaced by Kim Caldwell. The school nor coach have commented on Wynn's departure.

Tennessee (16-12, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) is the No. 6 seed in this week's SEC tournament in Greenville, S.C. The Volunteers having lost their last six games and nine of their last 11 since starting the season with a 14-3 (6-0) record.

--Field Level Media

NEED TO KNOW

• The star, 65, says that the process of opening up about it has taken her "at least" a decade as she was forced to confront shame and self-criticism that was rooted in her childhood trauma.

• Calling herself "a survivor," Bertinelli credits her son Wolfgang Van Halen, cooking and her work on The Drew Barrymore Show with helping her move forward and focus on the positive.

"I had no plans to reveal this," saysValerie Bertinelli. "This was going to be a book about teaching people how to love themselves. I did not know that I would go this far."

For the first time, the star, 65, is revealing that she was sexually abused at 11 years old.

"I guess because I'm healing from it, it's not so scary anymore," Bertinelli tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "I can say it out loud. I was sexually assaulted. It doesn't feel like it owns me anymore."

It's part of the "raw truth" that Bertinellii shares in her new book,Getting Naked,out on March 10 from Harper Wave. "It's about getting getting naked with who I am, emotionally, physically," she says. "It was really about getting to the nitty gritty and getting to the parts that I thought were shameful and come to find out they're not. They're all kinds of different facets of what makes us who we are."

To open that chapter of the book, Bertinelli "purposely" included a picture of herself at 11 years old "because that was the little girl that was sexually abused," she says. "And it boggles my mind that this little girl was taken advantage of that way. It boggles my mind because it's still happening ... and I'm furious about it. And we need to start speaking up and saying, 'Enough.'"

"It's taken me 10 years at least," she explains of her decision to come forward. "The very first time I said it out loud to my therapist, I thoughtI'm going to feel better now.It got worse before it got better. I maybe ate a little bit more, drank a little bit more. When you stop eating things for comfort, stop drinking alcohol, it exposes your feelings. You can deal with them or not. And I chose to deal with them. I don't feel shame about it anymore. I'm pissed off that it happened. Nobody deserves that."

And then came 2024, a rough year for Bertinelli. "I had a huge anxiety attack at the end of 2024 that brought me to my knees," she says. "And I thoughtI'm not getting anywhere. I needed to do more work." That meant digging into what was behind the body shame and the self criticism that she'd long held over the years.

"All of that shame had nothing to do with my body," she says. "It was just something to take out my shame on. My poor body. I was so mean to it. I just needed to get all those voices out of my head. As I was going through that, I'm thinking people are going to wonder, why do I have so much self loathing? That's not normal. It's because trauma happened in my childhood for the most part. I can't speak for anybody else but it's pretty textbook."

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Asked what she was like at 11 years old, she says, "I loved to color, read, play with my Barbies and ride my bike around the block. I loved my cats.  I was just a little girl."

Looking back, she simply says, "I'm a survivor."

Through all the turmoil, Bertinelli still leads with her heart. It's all part of the emotional connection she shares with fans who've followed her for decades, from the time she was 15 years old onOne Day at a Time, toHot in Cleveland (with her good friendBetty White) and now as part of the "Drew Crew" onThe Drew Barrymore Show.

She credits her work on the show withDrew Barrymore, which she calls "an oasis," and the love and support of her son,Wolfgang Van Halen, and her love of cooking with helping her heal. And she's focusing on the positive, along with her new digital platform,Valerie's Place. "I want to build a community where everybody is welcome. It's a place where people can come in to my kitchen and cook with me because I've missed that a lot."

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.

Take PEOPLE with you!Subscribe to PEOPLE magazineto get the latest details on celebrity news, exclusive royal updates, how-it-happened true crime stories and more — right to your mailbox.

Getting Nakedby Valerie Bertinelli comes out March 10 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

Read the original article onPeople

Trump met withGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merzon March 3 in the Oval Office. They were speaking about theUnited Kingdom'sresponse to thewar in Iran, which Trump criticized before talking about his heritage.

"I love that country. I love it. My mother was born there," he said, referencing Scotland, which is part of the UK. "My father was born..." Trump said, gesturing to Merz, before trailing off with saying, "he knows all about my father. My father was born there."

Trump has referred tohis father as Germanin the past, though Fred Trump was born in New York.

"My father was born in Germany," Trump said at a July 2025 bilateral meeting withUK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He went on to clarify, "Or is...his parents were just out."

Here is what to know about Trump's European heritage:

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More:Who's who in the Trump family? All 5 kids were at the SOTU

Trump's second term saw aggressive immigration and trade moves, federal downsizing, and assertive foreign interventions in Venezuela and Iran. President Donald Trump has doubled down on an aggressive immigration agenda, emphasizing record-low levels of illegal border crossings and a sweeping expansion of enforcement. In his February 2026 State of the Union address, Trump highlighted a nine‑month period in which, he claimed, "zero illegal aliens" were admitted into the U.S.—a statement that fact-checkers noted conflated admission with release on parole, though data does show no parole releases during that period.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The administration has also promoted major enforcement gains: significant declines in illegal crossings, a dramatic reduction in interior releases, expanded deportation operations, and tightened border controls, according to a February 2026 White House summary of its immigration actions. More broadly, the administration continues implementing executive actions that restrict entry at the southern border and increase immigration enforcement nationwide, including policies tied to TrumpÕs 2025 proclamation invoking federal authority to suspend certain entries. [whitehouse.gov]

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> President Donald Trump has intensified his tariff‑driven economic strategy in his second term, expanding duties across global partners while positioning tariffs as a central tool to bolster U.S. industry. Despite broad tariff hikes, the U.S. trade deficit surged in late 2025, reaching a record goods shortfall even as the administration sought to curb imports and revive domestic manufacturing—a goal undercut by a decline in factory employment during the same period.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> President Donald Trump has undertaken an unprecedented downsizing and restructuring of the federal government during his second term, marked by aggressive workforce reductions, major agency overhauls, and expanded executive authority over civil service rules.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Federal workforce cuts accelerated sharply in 2025, with estimates showing reductions ranging from 220,000 to more than 300,000 employees through voluntary departure incentives, pressure campaigns, buyouts, and targeted firingsÑresulting in the smallest federal workforce share recorded since the 1930s.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was created at the start of President Trump's second term to drive sweeping federal workforce reductions. DOGE spearheaded mass buyouts, layoffs, and restructuring across agencies, including the rollout of the Deferred Resignation Program and guidance encouraging the firing of probationary employees. Its initiatives contributed to a net loss of more than 150,000 federal workers early in Trump's second term, with broader governmentwide workforce reductions continuing into 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Elon Musk was appointed to lead DOGE and initially served as the public face of Trump's government‑shrinkage agenda. However, his influence declined significantly after he stepped away from the department and entered a public feud with President Trump. Many DOGE staffers left government during this period, and DOGE became associated with controversial actions including the dismantling of USAID and alleged improper access to agency data. Musk originally claimed DOGE would identify $2 trillion in government savings, but the department's website later estimated only $215 billion, a figure analysts say was overstated.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill", signed July 4, 2025, reshaped federal tax law by extending lower individual tax rates from the 2017 TCJA, increasing standard deductions, and adding new temporary deductions for tips and overtime.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The law also phases out clean‑energy incentives and cuts programs like Medicaid and SNAP, with the Congressional Budget Office projecting a $4.1 trillion increase in deficits over 10 years due to the package.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> President Trump has aligned many social policies with the goals of Project 2025, targeting reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, DEI programs, and gender‑affirming care. His administration has signed executive orders eliminating transgender protections, removing DEI offices across federal agencies, and directing schools to deny funding if they allow transgender girls to compete in girls' sports. He has also pursued efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and restrict reproductive‑health access—though not all proposed measures have succeeded.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Trump has moved aggressively to remake federal cultural institutions, ordering the removal of what he calls "anti‑American ideology" from museums, national parks, and research centers. Actions include restoring Confederate statues, removing slavery‑related exhibits and Native‑American history signage from national parks, and pressuring institutions like the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center while installing political allies onto boards. Civil‑rights groups warn these moves risk erasing critical historical truths and reversing decades of social progress

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> During his second term, President Donald Trump has systematically dismantled diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across the federal government. Executive orders have eliminated DEI offices and policies, with agencies placing all DEI‑related staff on administrative leave and shutting down DEI programs entirely. His administration also removed DEI departments at major cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art in early 2025. Trump has framed DEI initiatives as "anti‑American ideology," directing agencies and cultural institutions to strip references to DEI, sexual orientation and gender identity from rules, grants, and regulations. These moves reflect a broader cultural agenda aimed at reversing equity‑focused policies across education, federal agencies, and the arts sector.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> On January 3, 2026, President Donald Trump ordered a large‑scale U.S. military operation in Venezuela—Operation Absolute Resolve—resulting in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. U.S. forces conducted coordinated strikes across northern Venezuela to suppress air defenses before extracting the pair, who were flown to New York to face narco‑terrorism–related charges. The Trump administration framed the action as a law‑enforcement mission with military support, asserting inherent presidential authority, while Venezuela and several regional governments condemned it as a violation of sovereignty.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> In late February and early March 2026, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had begun "major combat operations in Iran," launching strikes alongside Israel targeting Iranian leadership, military infrastructure, and missile capabilities. The joint assault targeted high‑level officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, and was framed by Trump as necessary to eliminate "imminent threats" and prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Trump second term marked by turbulent moves. See photos

Trump's second term saw aggressive immigration and trade moves, federal downsizing, and assertive foreign interventions in Venezuelaand Iran. President Donald Trump has doubled down on an aggressiveimmigrationagenda, emphasizing record-low levels of illegal border crossings and a sweeping expansion of enforcement. In his February 2026 State of the Union address, Trump highlighted a nine‑month period in which, he claimed, "zero illegal aliens" were admitted into the U.S.—a statement that fact-checkers noted conflated admission with release on parole, though data does show no parole releases during that period.

Where was Fred Trump born?

President Trump's father Fred Trump was born in New York in 1905. Hedeveloped late-onset Alzheimer's diseaseand died in 1999 at the age of 93.

Fred Trump's father (the president's grandfather) emigrated from Germany in 1885, owned a couple of businesses, and returned to Germany to court his neighbor, according to hisNew York Times obituary. The two were married in 1902 and returned to New York, where they had Fred and two other children.

In a White House visit last year, Merz presented Trump with a framed copy of his grandfather's German birth certificate from 1869.

Trump alsosaid in 2019that his father was "born in a very wonderful place in Germany."

Where wasDonald Trump's mother born?

President Trump's motherMary Anne MacLeodwas born in Scotland and immigrated to New York in the 1930s.

Trump has often spoken warmly ofScotland, and the Trump Organization has a few golf courses there. Trump went to Trump Turnberry andTrump International Scotland near Aberdeenlast summer, ending his Scotland trip with a ribbon-cutting at a new course.

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her onX (Twitter),BlueskyandTikTok.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Did Trump say his father was born in Germany? Yes, many times

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has survived the U.S.-Israeli air war on Iran and is seen by Iran's establishment as ‌a potential successor to his father, who was killed in an airstrike on Saturday, two Iranian sources said on Wednesday.

A powerful mid-ranking cleric, Mojtaba has opposed reformers seeking to ‌engage with the West as it tries to curb Iran's nuclear programme, and has long greater freedoms.

His close ties with the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) give him added leverage across Iran's political and security apparatus and he has built up influence behind the ​scenes as his father's "gatekeeper", sources familiar with the matter said.

"He has strong constituency and support within the IRGC, in particular amongst the younger radical generations," said Kasra Aarabi, head of researching the IRGC at United Against Nuclear Iran, a U.S.-based policy organisation.

"So if Mojtaba is alive, there is a high chance that he will succeed (his father)," he said, describing Mojtaba as already operating as a "mini supreme leader".

DECISION ON SUPREME LEADER EXPECTED SOON

The Assembly of Experts that will select the new leader is "close to a conclusion" and will announce its decision soon, Assembly member Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami told state TV on Wednesday, without naming the candidates.

The supreme leader ‌has the final say on matters of state, including foreign policy ⁠and Iran's nuclear programme. Western powers want to prevent Tehran developing nuclear arms. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only.

If elected, Mojtaba will face pressure from U.S. sanctions that have hammered the economy and could face opposition from Iranians who have shown they are ready to stage mass protests to press ⁠their demands for greater freedoms despite bloody crackdowns by the authorities.

Mojtaba was born in 1969 in the city of Mashhad and grew up as his father was helping lead the opposition to the Shah. As a young man, he served in the Iran-Iraq war.

Mojtaba studied under religious conservatives in the seminaries of Qom, Iran's center of Shi'ite theological learning, and has the clerical rank of Hojjatoleslam.

He has never held a formal position in the ​Islamic ​Republic's government, despite being widely seen as the gatekeeper to his father. He has appeared at loyalist rallies, but ​has rarely spoken in public.

His role has long been a source of controversy ‌in Iran, with critics rejecting any hint of dynastic politics in a country that overthrew a U.S.-backed monarch in 1979.

US SANCTIONS

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mojtaba in 2019, saying he represented the supreme leader in "an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position" aside from working in his father's office.

Its website said Khamenei had delegated some of his responsibilities to Mojtaba, whom it said had worked closely with the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force and the Basij, a religious militia affiliated with the Guards, "to advance his father's destabilising regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives".

Mojtaba was a particular target for criticism by protesters during unrest over the death of a young woman in police custody in 2022, after she was arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic Republic's strict dress ‌codes.

In 2024, a video was widely shared in which he announced the suspension of Islamic jurisprudence classes he was ​teaching at Qom, fuelling speculation about the reasons.

Mojtaba bears a strong resemblance to his father, and wears the black turban ​of a sayyed, indicating his family traces its lineage to the Prophet Mohammad.

Critics say Mojtaba ​lacks the clerical credentials to be supreme leader - Hojjatoleslam is a notch below the rank of Ayatollah, the position held by his father and Ruhollah Khomeini, ‌who founded the Islamic Republic.

But he has remained in the frame, particularly after ​another leading candidate for the role - the former President ​Ebrahim Raisi - died in a helicopter crash in 2024.

A U.S. diplomatic cable written in 2007 and published by WikiLeaks cited three Iranian sources describing Mojtaba as an avenue to reach Khamenei.

Mojtaba was widely believed to have been behind the sudden rise of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was elected president in 2005.

Mojtaba backed Ahmadinejad in 2009 when he won a second term ​in a disputed election which resulted in anti-government protests that were violently ‌suppressed by the Basij and other security forces.

Mehdi Karroubi, a moderate cleric who ran in the election, wrote a letter to Khamenei at the time objecting to what ​he alleged was Mojtaba's role in supporting Ahmadinejad. Khamenei rejected the accusation.

Mojtaba's wife, who was killed in Saturday's airstrikes, was the daughter of a prominent hardliner, the former ​parliament speaker Gholamali Haddadadel.

(Writing by Tom Perry and Michael Georgy and Parisa Hafezi, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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The year 2026 is shaping up to be pivotal for F1, with a new generation of cars offering up a moment of truth for the sport's aging legends while creating tantalizing opportunities for veterans eying a trophy and new up-and-comers looking to shine.

Here are seven storylines to watch ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which begins Saturday night in the U.S.

A rules revolution scrambles the field

It has been called the biggestregulation changein F1 history, scrambling the field and creating intrigue about who will come out ahead. The newer cars are more agile and more reliant on battery power, reshaping how drivers approach racing.

The changes are part of F1's ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030. They'll upend driving styles and challenge every racer to rethink cornering and braking and when to conserve power and when to deploy it — putting more emphasis on strategy and long game than raw one-lap pace. And "DRS" will be gone.

"It's the nature of Formula 1," F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told F1 reporters during a recent virtual news conference. "What has to be protected ... is having great racing, great overtaking opportunity, great challenge that you can give to the drivers to show if they are the best."

Domenicali is aware of the criticisms from drivers and the jousting over desired changes, saying the sport will "intervene and react immediately" to update the regulations if the larger goals aren't met. But he voiced confidence that "our 900 million fans" will find plenty to love about the sport's next iteration.

Can Lando Norris defend his title?

If a "shakedown" in Barcelona, Spain, and preseason testing in Bahrain provide any indication, the top four teams remain faster than the rest. Beyond that, there are more questions than answers.

McLaren remains a contender, but it may no longer have the best car, meaning Lando Norris could have a tough timedefending his championship. Teammate Oscar Piastri narrowly lost out last year, and it's unclear that he'll have a better chance now.

Mercedes remains favorites even though it didn't top the timesheets in testing, with George Russell leading the betting odds to capture his first title. Its engine is expected to be the class of the field, and many in the paddock are convinced it has been "sandbagging," or hiding its pace.

Red Bull had a strong test despite having ditched engine partner Honda to build a new power unit with Ford. Four-time champion Max Verstappen sits second in the early betting odds.

Ferrari looks impressive, but early strength has often failed to translate into titles. Could it finally be the Tifosi's year? Charles Leclerc is hungry for his first title, and he hinted last year that the team's competitiveness in the first part of 2026 will shape his decision about whether to stay or leave. Seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton is eager to improve after a miserable 2025.

Further down the order, it's all to play for. The Audi F1 Team debuts this year after having taken over Sauber. Alpine has switched to a Mercedes engine, alongside reigning champions McLaren. Williams and Aston Martin, both of which entered 2026 with high expectations, showed signs of trouble in preseason.

A new American team

It's a huge year for F1 in America on track, with GM-backed Cadillacjoining the grid as the 11th team. Don't expect any sudden heroics or race wins early on — it's aiming to build a foundation and make steady progress rather than take risky bets with the gargantuan task of building from scratch.

Still, Cadillac F1 has impressed rivals by building a car that went faster than Aston Martin and ran over 200 laps more than the British team in testing, indicating a reliable platform to build on.

With carsbuilt by Andretti Globaland TWG Motorsports, it has tapped race-winning veteransSergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas for this year, prioritizing experience over youth at the outset. Waiting in the wings is Cadillac F1 test-driver Colton Herta, the former IndyCar racer, who will race in Formula 2 this year.

American fans will see a GM-versus-Ford rivalry on track for the first time ever, as the latter makes a comeback to F1 with Red Bull after two decades away from the sport. (In a sense, they'll also see aFord vs. Ferrarifight.)

This year Cadillac will be powered by a Ferrari engine, much like the other U.S.-based team, Haas.

A pivotal year for three F1 champions

The new cars will set the trajectory of F1 for the next five years, through 2030, shaping the futures of three of the biggest stars.

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Verstappen has been stoking speculation about a potential exit from F1, criticizing the new cars, musing wistfully about a life untethered from the sport's grueling schedule andinsisting he'll leaveif he's no longer having fun.

Teams rise and fall during a regulation set, but the squad that gets it right at the outset tends to hold a huge advantage. That carries significant implications for two decorated elder millennials.

Hamilton is still searching for the record-breaking eighth championship that has eluded him for five years. He's 41, and this year could determine whether he'll stick around or call it quits.

And 44-year-old Fernando Alonso, a double world champion now at Aston Martin, is all but defying the laws of aging to continue operating at this level. But his quest for a competitive car to return to race-winning ways — he hasn't won a Grand Prix since 2013 — can't go on forever. If Aston Martin's early troubles persist, it could affect his decision about whether to stay or go.

Younger drivers rise

Last season featured a breakout cast of rookies who now have a chance to take things to the next level.

Kimi Antonelli, who debuted with Mercedes last year at age 18, showed flashes of brilliance — and inconsistency — last season. If Mercedes is as strong as expected this year, he'll have the chance to fight for Grand Prix victories, and maybe more.

Isack Hadjar, who scored an extraordinary podium with Racing Bulls last year, has been promoted to the senior Red Bull team. Will he succumb to the curse that has felled every one of Verstappen's teammates for years? Or will he break it?

Ollie Bearman of Haas outshined his more experienced teammate Esteban Ocon in 2025, and if he continues to impress, it'll put him closer to his dream Ferrari seat. Former F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, now with Audi, is another one to watch.

The only rookie on the grid this year is Arvid Lindblad, who will replace Yuki Tsuonda at Racing Bulls. His teammate will be Liam Lawson, who, like other drivers, faces a key year to prove his value in the sport after having jumped in and out of seats since 2023.

Global and intra-team turmoil

The military attacks the U.S. and Israel launched recently against Iran have sparked Iranian retaliation and created turmoil in the region, casting a cloud over upcoming races scheduled in Bahrain on April 12 and in Saudi Arabia on April 19.

It's a fluid situation. But for now, Formula 1 officials say they're not worried and expect to carry out each of the race weekends.

"Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan, not in the Middle East — those races are not for a number of weeks," a spokesperson for F1 said. "As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities."

And inside the paddock, Aston Martin's preseason woes have left rivals wondering whether it will be operating at full strength in the opening race — from scant mileage in testing to reliability problems and engine issuesconfirmed by its new owner, Honda. The team is said to be working on solutions and plans to go to Melbourne to execute, and the early practice sessions Friday could determine whether it'll be a normal weekend.

A new experience for U.S. fans

The ESPN/ABC era of Formula 1 is over. Americans will now watch the races on Apple TV for the next five yearsunder a deal by the two parties signed last year.

Fans can download the Apple TV app on their phones or smart TVs and watch all the sessions for a subscription costing $12.99 per month, with the option of a seven-day free trial, or $99 per year.

NBC News got an early preview of the experience from Apple.

All the races and sessions will be available in 4K Dolby Vision with immersive 5.1 surround sound. There's a "multi-view" option allowing viewers to simultaneously watch the main broadcast and up to three onboard cameras at once.

Viewers will have the option to choose between the F1 TV commentators, led by Alex Jacques, or the Sky Sports broadcasters, helmed by David Croft and Martin Brundle. (The former will be the default setting as Apple is linking up with F1 TV to give subscribers the same features on its platform.)

Apple has partnered with Netflix to stream the newly released Season 8 of "Drive to Survive" on both platforms. In addition, Netflix will also broadcast the Canadian Grand Prix.

To say Born's win was mired in controversy would be an understatement. That's because the four runners that were outpacing the rest of the pack were led off the course by the guide vehicle with just over a mile remaining in the 13.1-mile race.

The quartet ran about 1 kilometer (roughly 0.62 miles) extra,according to one of the runners. By the time the mistake was realized and the wayward runners were led back onto the race course, they had been overtaken by rest of the field. The trio that was set to make the podium ended up finishing in ninth, 12th and 13th place.

The affected runners filed a protest of the results and were denied. They then appealed that decision to USATF.

In a statement, the national track and field governing body determined that the course violated USATF rules and was not adequately marked, which contributed to the misdirection. However, USATF said there is no recourse in the rule book to alter the finishing order of the race.

The protested results would stand, to the satisfaction of seemingly no one, not even the race winner. Born said in aninterviewafter the race, "I don't really feel like the US champion."

Jess McClain, who was in the lead before taking the wrong turn, said onInstagram, "I'm going try my hardest to walk away from this weekend remembering the joy I felt in those moments where I thought I was on my way to becoming a National Champion & finally make Team USA outright."

Astatementreleased by the Atlanta Track Club on Tuesday shed some light on the bizarre chain of events that led to the contentious finish.

What exactly went wrong?

The race began to go off the rails when the frontrunners were still about 13 unlucky minutes away from the fateful intersection.

Police officers who were working to direct traffic for the race received a call of an officer down about a block off the race course roughly 300 feet from the location of the misdirection. Race organizers say that a motorcycle officer working the race was struck by a vehicle around 8:05 a.m. ET. The officer was treated at a local hospital and released later that day.

Two minutes later, nearby officers working the race responded to the call of an officer down, leaving "a number of key race intersections, including the one where the wrong turn occurred, unattended," according to Atlanta Track Club.

The officer who left the affected intersection had not yet placed the traffic cones to block the intersection and mark the race course.

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At 8:10 a.m., the lead male athletes of the race "successfully navigate" the intersection in question with a race-assigned escort.

Another police officer – who was not assigned to work the race and wasn't equipped to prevent the wrong turn, according to race organizers – arrived five minutes later at 8:15 a.m. to facilitate the flow of first responder vehicles through the intersection to reach the officer down.

Atlanta Track Club says the driver of the lead vehicle knew the planned route, but upon arrival at the intersection at 8:20 a.m. ET, the traffic cones had not been set to mark the race course, so they followed a police motorcycle off course, believing that the race had been rerouted.

Twenty five seconds after the four runners had made the wrong turn, the original officer assigned to work the intersection returned. Motorcycle police eventually caught up to the misdirected athletes and turned them around.

Meanwhile, additional race-assigned police officers arrived at the intersection at 8:22 a.m. and directed all subsequent runners along the correct route.

"We regret that Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were impacted by this incident and were unable to be recognized as the top three finishers reflective of their performance on the course," Atlanta Track Club said in its Tuesday statement.

"Atlanta Track Club has offered to match the prize money as follows: McClain to receive the equivalent of first-place prize money. Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined total of second- and- third-place prize money because they were shoulder-to-shoulder when they left the race course."

But there was more than just prize money at stake on Sunday.

The race was a qualification event for the world championships later this year, with the top three finishers slated to represent the US in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September.

USATF says it will review the situation further before selecting the runners who will compete in Denmark.

"That team is not officially selected until May," the governing body said.

"USATF will review the events from Atlanta carefully. While we understand athletes are eager to resolve this issue expeditiously, our process will ensure an ultimate decision is in the best interest of all the athletes involved."

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