In one of the most stunning upsets in Olympic figure skating history, Team USA figure skater Ilia Malinin lost his expected spot on the podium Friday night in Milan, finishing eighth after entering the men&#8217;s free skate with a head start and expectations of taking home the gold.
The 21-year-old two-time world champion has been undefeated in major competitions since 2023. But that all changed during the men’s free skate program on Friday when <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/13/nx-s1-5713991/ilia-malinin-mikhail-shaidorov-figure-skating-olympics">he fell twice</a> and downgraded multiple jumps in a performance that shocked the sold out arena and millions of fans watching around the world.
Malinin had been nicknamed the &#8220;Quad God,” and was being lauded by the media, which many claim helped contribute to the loss as the immense pressure took a toll on the first-time Olympic competitor.
His free skate started going downhill after he failed to execute the exceedingly difficult quadruple axel. To date, Malinin is the only skater to successfully land a quad axel during a competition, and so far, it’s never been landed on Olympic ice. The skater failed to rotate and popped the jump into a single axel instead.
Later, he fell while attempting a quadruple Lutz and a double Salchow, which was also meant to be a quad.
Following his devastating skate, Malinin described the mental pressure. &#8220;Before getting into my starting pose, those experiences, memories and thoughts and pressure, it just felt so overwhelming,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/usa-s-ilia-malinin-finishes-in-shocking-eighth-place-at-winter-olympics-2026">said</a>.
Malinin also told NBC News that he &#8220;blew it,&#8221; and mentioned the weight of expectations once again. &#8220;All of this pressure, all of the media, and just being the Olympic gold hopeful was a lot,&#8221; the Team USA skater <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/ilia-malinin-olympic-performance-rcna259058">explained</a>.
Kazakhstan&#8217;s Mikhail Shaidorov took home the gold with 291.58 points, earning his country&#8217;s first Winter Games gold medal in over three decades. Malinin is being praised for immediately walking over to Shaidorov to embrace and congratulate him after the results were announced.
Japan&#8217;s Yuma Kagiyama took home silver while Shun Sato, also from Japan, earned the bronze medal. Malinin finished with 264.49 points after being docked 72 points for errors, giving him an eighth-place finish.
Malinin had already secured a team gold medal earlier in the Olympic Games, but had been aggressively seeking an individual gold.

Ilia Malinin

Olympic Heartbreak: ‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin Breaks Under Pressure, Fails To Medal In Milan

General

Italy

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There’s a potential scandal in the world of Olympic ski jumping as some athletes are being accused of injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid to achieve greater distances in competition.
“Penisgate” was first reported by the German newspaper Bild and is now being investigated by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The idea behind this method is to increase the surface area of the crotch on competitors, requiring athletes to be given a larger, looser suit, which leads to a reduced descent rate due to a larger surface area, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/05/penis-injection-doping-claims-in-winter-olympics-ski-jumping-investigated-by-wada" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a> previously reported.
World Anti-Doping Agency Director General Olivier Niggli said he was unaware of this method before the accusations went viral. 
“I’m not aware of the details of ski jumping — and how this can improve [performance] — but if anything was to come to the surface we would look at anything if it is actually doping related,” Niggli said.
“We don’t do other means of enhancing performance but our list committee would certainly look into whether this would fall into this category. But I hadn’t heard about that until you mentioned.”
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which oversees ski jumping at the Winter Olympics, initially <a href="https://www.fis-ski.com/inside-fis/news/2025-26/ski-jumping-charges-brought-against-norwegian-officials-and-athletes">investigated</a> &#8220;allegations of illegal equipment manipulation&#8221; by the Norwegian ski jumping team in 2025.
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Everyone is sharing this like it’s self-evident. I think it raises more questions than it answers. <a href="https://t.co/0H5Jg5C1xA">pic.twitter.com/0H5Jg5C1xA</a>
— Joe Bernstein (@Bernstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bernstein/status/2019594899327537312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Two Olympic medalists from Norway, Marius Lindvik and Johann André Forfang, faced three-month suspensions after it was discovered that their ski suits were altered in the crotch area at the 2025 World Ski Championships to achieve a similar effect.
Both competitors denied knowledge of the altered suits and will compete in the Olympics. One of Norway’s head coaches and two other staffers were also suspended in connection with the scandal, which was dubbed “Crotchgate.”
A recent study <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1693699/full">found</a> that every 2 centimeters in suit size circumference reduced drag by 4% and increased lift by 5%, resulting in an extra 5.8 meters in jump length.
There are now more stringent inspections being done on ski jumping suits ahead of the competition. Per <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ski-jumping-suit-scandal-norway-crotch-a15ae26420ff0261b72fd8fdf57ac6ec">Associated Press</a>, two FIS controllers and a doctor will use improved 3-D measurements to evaluate the athletes wearing their uniforms. 
The suits must pass this checkpoint before they are given tamper-proof microchips, which would make alterations impossible. These chips will be scanned and remain in place at all times, the outlet noted.
The 2026 Winter Olympics, commonly known as Milano Cortina 2026, kick off Friday in Italy.

Marius Lindvik

‘Equipment Manipulation’: Olympic Ski Jumpers Accused Of Injecting Acid Into Penises To Gain Edge

Olympic Ski Jumpers Accused Of Injecting Penises With Acid To Fly Farther

skiing

Lindsey Vonn&#8217;s epic Olympic comeback is in jeopardy after the legendary skier was airlifted after crashing during a World Cup race in Switzerland on Friday.
Vonn said she injured her left knee while competing at the Crans Montana World Cup. Vonn was making a turn when she lost control and crashed. She was able to limp off the course to a medical tent for evaluation before having to be airlifted in a harness.
&#8220;I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further exams,&#8221; Vonn said Friday. &#8220;This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics &#8230; but if there&#8217;s one thing I know how to do, it&#8217;s a comeback.&#8221;
The 41-year-old was poised to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, which begin next Friday in Italy. Vonn made a comeback last season after spending nearly six years away from the sport. The Olympic gold medalist is scheduled to compete February 8 in the women&#8217;s downhill for her first Olympic event. She is also set to compete in the super-G and the new team combined event.
&#8220;My Olympic dream is not over,&#8221; Vonn added. &#8220;Thank you to all the medical staff who helped me today &#8230; it&#8217;s not over until it&#8217;s over.&#8221;
Vonn&#8217;s coach told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/vonn-crashes-crans-montana-downhill-2026-01-30/">Reuters</a> that the skier was in some pain after the incident.
&#8220;She has some pain so it&#8217;s better to have some checks, the physio did some checks they seemed ok but there were things he was not 100% sure so it was good to have it checked (at the hospital),&#8221; Aksel Lund Svindal said.
The rest of the World Cup race was called off because of the worsening conditions in Switzerland and several crashes on top of Vonn&#8217;s accident.
“The main reason is the safety of the athletes,&#8221; Women&#8217;s World Cup Director Pete Gerdol said after calling off the competition. &#8220;The visibility was getting worse and worse, they couldn’t see the race line properly and it caused mistakes. We saw six athletes starting and all six had some mistakes. This was a sign that it was a high-risk situation. We know that our sport is a risky sport, but the feeling was too much risk. That’s why the Jury decided to stop the race.”
Before Friday&#8217;s injury, Vonn was having a successful 2025-2026 campaign on the slopes. In December, she won her first skiing World Cup since her comeback. Her last title before that was in 2018, but she didn&#8217;t have to wait long at all to find the top spot again. Earlier in January, Vonn won another World Cup in Austria, bringing her total World Cup victories to 84.
The accolades mounting during her comeback tour are why Vonn was a strong favorite heading into this year&#8217;s games. If she is able to recover for the Olympics, it will have to be speedy. The practice runs for the downhill start Wednesday.

Credit: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images

‘My Olympic Dream Is Not Over’: Lindsey Vonn Airlifted After Crash One Week Before Start Of Games

The Department of Homeland Security clarified what its role would be at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan next month after rumors began circulating that ICE officers would be arriving in Italy as part of the security detail.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” the department shared in an X post on Tuesday in response to a Variety article detailing the “uproar.”
“At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,” the post said. “All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
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Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.
At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational… <a href="https://t.co/ujkMw6dxFD">https://t.co/ujkMw6dxFD</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2016174667774480707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The clarification comes after social media users and even Italian government officials voiced their distress over ICE officers being present at the Olympics in any capacity. As the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ice-milan-cortina-olympics-immigration-enforcement-us-110fa4b2066e1fb920dba2a71c3a89e0">noted</a>, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a department within ICE, is known to deploy officers to overseas events like the Olympic Games to help with security.
Vice President JD Vance will lead the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremony in Milan on February 6, 2026, the White House previously <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-delegation-winter-olympics-vance-rubio-italy-4cda5924bd4bec7732c065e2a170cbaf">announced</a>. He will be joined by second lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta, and several former Olympic champions.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told local radio station RTL Radio 102 that he did not want ICE in the city. “This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,” Sala said, per AP.
Activist group Azione Milano started a petition calling for ICE agents to be banned from the Olympics this year &#8212; but the Associated Press noted that the backlash is caused by confusion over the different departments within Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Specifically, Enforcement and Removal Operations officers have the job of arresting and removing individuals violating immigration laws in the United States. Meanwhile, the delegation heading to the Olympics is part of HSI and are often stationed at foreign embassies around the world.

Milan Olympics

Leftists Melt Down Over Absurd Fear That ICE Will Be At Milan Olympics

Anti-ICE

Department of Homeland Security

Global Politics

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After Spain, France, and Italy blocked a move to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, Dutch member of the European Parliament Bart Groothuis blasted the decision.
The IRGC acts as the &#8220;praetorian guard&#8221; for the Supreme Leader of Iran, tasked with ensuring the regime&#8217;s survival by crushing any internal opposition. Reports indicate that IRGC and Basij forces used live fire against peaceful demonstrators and even raided hospitals to arrest injured protesters. Estimates range from 5,000 to more than 15,000 deaths in January. The IRGC <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/14/iran-detainees-ill-treated-and-disappeared-after-israeli-evin-prison-attack">controls</a> its own intelligence apparatus and secret detention centers (such as Ward 2A of Evin Prison), where dissidents, journalists, and dual nationals are subjected to physical and psychological torture, forced confessions, and summary executions. Through its Quds Force, the IRGC operates as the world&#8217;s most active state sponsor of terrorism, conducting operations on nearly every continent.
Germany and the Baltic states are among the countries <a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/14/pressure-mounts-on-eu-to-list-irans-revolutionary-guards-as-terror-organization?utm_source=chatgpt.com">pushing</a> for the European Parliament to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Under EU rules, all 27 member states must agree for the designation to move forward.
“Italy, Spain, and France are against putting the Islamic Iranian Revolutionary Guard, IRGC, on the EU terrorist list,” Groothuis noted. “Let’s call things as they are: France, Spain, and Italy say there are legal obstacles. Well, maybe murdering people inside Europe, or funding several terrorist organizations, or burning synagogues in Düsseldorf; maybe that is not enough. But surely, unleashing chemical weapons on the Iranian population or killing many thousands of innocent civilians.”
“Spain, Italy, and France say they need a legal court order; well, there is one, like in Düsseldorf. And please ask Israel, Saudi Arabia, United States, Canada, Bahrain, who have already designated IRC a terrorist organization, whether there was a diplomatic collapse: there wasn’t. Can the High Representative formally acknowledge here today that it is these three countries — like the press is reporting constantly in the Council — who are blocking to list the IRGC? Will the High Representative be on our side to sanction the IRGC, and expose their children and grandchildren who are studying here in Europe, enjoying our liberties, while their relatives are pouring chemical weapons over the heads of innocent, freedom-abiding Persians?”
“Let’s call things as they are,” he repeated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WOW. I’m speechless.
Spain, France, and Italy have BLOCKED the declaration of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.
Dutch Member of the European Parliament Bart Groothuis from the right-center party bloc &#8220;Renew Europe&#8221; opposes the blocks set by Spain,… <a href="https://t.co/LDAbCOwbeF">pic.twitter.com/LDAbCOwbeF</a>
— Chaya’s Clan (@ChayasClan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChayasClan/status/2013946594601599432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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European Defence And Security Summit Held In Brussels

Dutch Lawmaker Slams France, Spain, Italy For Blocking Terror Label On Iranian Revolutionary Guards

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When President Trump took to Truth Social to <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115370746210555899">promote</a> Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s new book, “I Am Giorgia,” many may have viewed it as a natural alliance between two champions of national pride, family values, and strong leadership. Trump praised Meloni as an inspiration, highlighting her dedication to faith, family, and country — qualities he has always deeply valued.
However, the public display of friendship and affection stands in stark contrast to recent moves by the Italian government to harm American businesses. In fact, its recent policy decisions are quietly undermining a vital element of Trump’s economic strategy with Europe — particularly the principle against unfair, targeted fees on America’s innovators in the tech and telecom sectors.
The Italian bureaucracy, through Italy’s telecom authority AGCOM, has recently taken <a href="https://ccianet.org/news/2025/09/italys-move-towards-network-fees-sets-blueprint-for-eu-under-digital-networks-act-study-finds/">steps</a> that classify Content Delivery Networks as part of Italy’s national telecom infrastructure. This may seem like a technical regulatory shift, but it sets a dangerous precedent for forcing U.S.-based streaming giants like Netflix and YouTube to shoulder <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/news/italys-telecoms-regulator-walks-fine-line-between-meloni-trump-and-brussels-over-network-fees/">new costs</a>.
The idea that such platforms should pay what Europe calls “network fees” was repeatedly rejected by Brussels to avoid sparking a trade war with the United States. Yet Italy’s move appears to be a sneaky attempt to backdoor these fees through regulation rather than overt legislation.
That makes this latest maneuver particularly troubling in light of the U.S.–EU trade deal framework, which explicitly commits Europe to refraining from imposing network fees or equivalent measures that target American digital services. That commitment was celebrated as a breakthrough for fair and open digital trade — and a win for both sides of the Atlantic. Italy’s proposal represents a direct and duplicitous workaround of that agreement and should not be tolerated by either Meloni or President Trump.
The problem runs deeper than just economic policy. President Trump has always insisted that America should be treated fairly and that U.S. companies should not be subjected to unfair financial penalties while European companies enjoy protection. The essence of Trump’s “America First” trade approach is not just about tariffs but standing up to Europe’s habit of disguising predatory actions as “fairness” or “sovereignty.” Time and again, European bureaucrats have tried to charm American leadership with lofty rhetoric while quietly pursuing policies that simultaneously penalize U.S. tech innovators in favor of incumbent European firms and <a href="https://strandconsult.dk/is-there-a-correlation-between-european-nations-level-of-chinese-telecom-equipment-the-consumption-of-russian-energy-and-military-aid-to-ukraine/">hand over</a> their purportedly sacred sovereignty to Chinese companies.
In fact, in Italy’s case, more than a third of its 5G infrastructure is supplied by China. And the country’s largest telecom provider, Telecom Italia (TIM), has <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pietro-labriola_digitale-innovazione-sostenibilitaeq-activity-7383556923331162112-xRkN/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAACcXXMBcipZDNsVQ3AlxVNbqOAKXKgu_r0">deep ties</a> with other countries at the center of <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2025/10/13/john-czwartacki-brazil-is-waging-war-on-american-technology-with-chinas-help/">China’s scheme</a> to drive a wedge between the United States and our allies across the Atlantic and in our own backyard. 
The regulatory maneuvers of Meloni’s government are out of step with her public embrace of Trump’s values. She claims to stand for independence and patriotism, yet by empowering AGCOM to impose regulatory costs on American tech, she works within the same globalist, big government EU framework that Trump himself has warned against. This contradiction should raise alarms on both sides of the Atlantic. Supporting a populist vision in politics means little if the policies implemented to bring it to fruition end up stifling competition and reducing consumer welfare.
Italy’s approach to network fees could also spark retaliatory measures that hurt Italian and European interests in the process. Real partnership demands more than symbolic displays of loyalty. It requires shared commitment to open markets, fair competition, and the removal of hidden barriers.
Europe’s temptation to manipulate U.S. leaders through false promises while it advances onerous regulatory measures designed to impose new costs must be understood for what it is. President Trump’s success has come from hard-nosed deals and a refusal to be played. Europeans seem to believe they can deflect this approach by offering words of friendship and then quietly imposing rules that undermine longstanding agreements and harm the U.S. tech sector.
Meloni’s memoir captures the spirit many admire — strong roots, fierce pride, and clear principles — but her government’s recent actions surrounding network fees show that principles alone are not enough. The mutually beneficial alliance Trump seeks with leaders like Meloni must rest on policies that truly defend fairness and reciprocity and reject regulatory overreach that unfairly burdens U.S. businesses.
In the end, Trump recognizes that true partnership is built on shared interests and respect, not on central planning that distorts the market and seeks to extract money under the guise of fairness. Meloni’s Italy may talk the language of sovereignty, but on this issue, it echoes the very European playbook Trump has fought against: using regulation to impose hidden taxes on American innovation.
If President Trump’s affection for Meloni is to be returned in kind, it must coincide with a call for policies aligned with his economic principles. Otherwise, public displays of friendship are mere symbolic gestures that hypocritically mask Europe’s continued attempts to challenge American leadership. Such contradictions weaken transatlantic unity and threaten the very foundation of the deal Trump fought to secure.
* * *
Ashley Baker is Executive Director of The Committee for Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rule of law and constitutionally limited government.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

President Trump Meets With Visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni At The White House

Trump’s Favorite European Ally Is Quietly Undermining His Trade Agenda

Big Tech

Business

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Donald Trump

Foreign Policy

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Italy’s boldest conservative leader since the Cold War, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is doubling down on her defense of Italian identity and Western values with a sweeping new proposal targeting what she calls “Islamic separatism.” Unveiled on Wednesday by her Brothers of Italy party, the bill would ban burqas and niqabs in all public spaces and impose tough new measures against radical Islamist influence inside the country.
The legislation goes far beyond the face-covering bans already in place in parts of Europe. Under the proposed law, wearing a full-face veil like a burqa or niqab in public—whether in schools, shops, offices, or on the street—could result in fines of up to €3,000 ($3,500). But the law doesn’t stop there.
The bill includes criminal penalties for so-called “cultural crimes,” like virginity testing and forced marriages, especially when driven by religious coercion. Punishment for such offenses could reach up to 10 years in prison — a clear signal from Meloni’s government that Italy won’t tolerate practices seen as violating women’s rights or Western values.
Galeazzo Bignami, parliamentary leader of Brothers of Italy, <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/15321318/italy-ban-burka-virginity-testing-giorgia-meloni/">said</a> the idea was to protect the country from “all forms of extremism and any attempt to create parallel societies on Italian soil.”
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“No foreign funding should ever undermine our sovereignty or our civilization,” declared Brothers of Italy lawmaker Andrea Delmastro. The bill drives that point home by targeting mosque financing and requiring full transparency from all religious groups not formally recognized by the Italian state — a category that includes every Muslim organization in the country.
Any organization receiving money from foreign entities deemed a &#8220;threat to state security&#8221; would be barred from operating. It’s a direct strike against foreign-funded Islamist influence, which Meloni’s government believes fosters radicalism and attempts to establish “parallel societies” within Italy.
As Brothers of Italy parliamentary leader Galeazzo Bignami put it, the law aims to defend the Republic from extremism and from those who seek to live under sharia law rather than the Italian constitution. Party immigration chief Sara Kelany reinforced the message, declaring Italy will not tolerate &#8220;enclaves&#8221; where Western legal norms are subordinated to religious law.
Predictably, the usual chorus of critics — Muslim groups, NGOs, and global media — have labeled the move “divisive.” But the Meloni coalition holds a commanding majority in parliament, meaning the bill is likely to pass despite the backlash.
While leftist voices are <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/italy-pm-meloni-says-been-denounced-icc-complicity-genocide-2025-10-07/">attempting</a> to accuse Meloni of “complicity in genocide” at the International Criminal Court — due to her government’s past support for Israel — she remains undeterred. “I’m amazed,” she said, noting that Italy had not authorized new arms shipments since October 7, 2023.
In a time when weak Western leaders fold under pressure, Meloni stands firm and reminds the world that Italy will not be conquered from within.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni guest on Cinque Minuti

Meloni’s Culture War: Italy Moves To Defend Western Values

Burqa

Islamization

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A North Carolina woman is being celebrated after a video clip of her physically detaining a suspected pickpocket in Venice went viral on social media.
In the video, Christina Cadieu Greene can be seen holding onto a teenager’s ponytail and refusing to let go for just under an hour until law enforcement arrived.
Greene’s daughter Karis McElroy shared the video and later posted a longer explanation on TikTok. She said that Greene and her husband were walking in a crowded area when they noticed three girls getting close to them. When the couple arrived at their Airbnb, they realized Greene’s purse containing her passport, Apple AirPods, credit cards, and cash was missing. 
The North Carolina resident decided to use Find My Friends to locate the AirPods and the suspected thief.
“She was frantic trying to get this back. Her and my stepdad immediately started tracking her purse through her AirPods on Find My Friends and they were able to track it down back to those three girls because my mom already knew, like, these people must have been it,” McElroy said in the video.
Once she tracked down the girls, she grabbed one by the hair. This inspired a second accomplice to flee the scene while the third girl stood by her friend. Greene did not let go of her hair even as the girl struggled and screamed at her. 
“You stole my purse with my passport in it,” she told the teen. “You are not getting away. I&#8217;m not stopping, kid. You are not getting away. I have eight kids, you don&#8217;t get to me.”
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McElroy shared a screenshot of a text thread from her mom on the post that said, “Something just came over me and I was so angry, and I went after them and grabbed the youngest of the three by the ponytail and wrapped my hand around the ponytail and would not let go.”
“One girl stayed [and] another one ran off. I ended up holding her by her ponytail with it wrapped around my hand for 50 minutes. She would be screaming at me, cussing at me, and I would scream back and tug harder on her hair. I would pull her down and I would pull her up with her hair.”
Greene said the crowd was cheering “because pickpockets are so bad in this area.”
“The man who runs the Airbnb was wonderful. He came out and called the police, but [it] still took a long time for the police to get there. When the police got there, I released the girl and the [other] one with her went crazy. They were insane,” McElroy said. “They started kicking and fighting with police to get away.”
Greene said one of the girls swung her bag with a metal water bottle in it, which injured her face. “I was bleeding pretty bad. I had a gash on my head and it was running down my face,” she said.
Meanwhile, the third accomplice who had run away with the bag had returned it to a United States liaison office at the airport to avoid being prosecuted. Greene did get her bag back, minus $200 in cash and the AirPods that helped her track it down in the first place.
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@karismcelroy/video/7539305072782626078" data-video-id="7539305072782626078" data-embed-from="oembed" style="max-width:605px; min-width:325px;">
<section> <a target="_blank" title="@karismcelroy" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@karismcelroy?refer=embed">@karismcelroy</a> 
Replying to @kennedy STORY TIME <a title="pickpocketing" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pickpocketing?refer=embed">#pickpocketing</a> <a title="foryoupage" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foryoupage?refer=embed">#foryoupage</a> 
 <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - karis" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7539305136381463327?refer=embed">♬ original sound &#8211; karis</a> </section>
</blockquote>
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Per <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15017655/You-messed-wrong-mom-Daughter-US-tourist-held-ponytail-14-year-old-pickpocket-50-MINUTES-reveals-brilliant-way-tracked-thief-Venice-crowds.html">The Daily Mail</a>, the two underage suspects were arrested and released on bail.

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North Carolina Mom Of 8 Goes Viral For Holding Ponytail Of Italian Pickpocket For 1 Hour

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BERLIN/MILAN (Reuters) -A Ukrainian man was arrested at a holiday bungalow in Italy on suspicion of coordinating attacks on three Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, officials said on Thursday, a breakthrough in an episode that sharpened tensions between Russia and the West.
Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the explosions largely severed Russian gas supplies to Europe, prompting a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezing energy supplies on the continent. No one has taken responsibility for the blasts and Ukraine has denied any role.
The arrest comes just as Kyiv is engaged in fraught diplomatic discussions with the United States over how to end the war in Ukraine without giving away major concessions and swathes of its own territory to Russia.
&#8220;Politically we are firmly on Ukraine&#8217;s side and will continue to be so,&#8221; said Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig when asked if the arrest would affect Berlin&#8217;s ties to Kyiv. &#8220;What is important for me is that Germany is a country of law, and crimes in our jurisdiction are fully investigated.&#8221;
The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, a statement from the prosecutor&#8217;s office said.
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He and his accomplices had set off from Rostock on Germany&#8217;s northeastern coast in a sailing yacht to carry out the attack, it said. The vessel had been rented from a German company with the help of forged identity documents via middlemen, it added.
Authorities acted on a European arrest warrant for the suspect, who faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures.
An official in the Ukrainian president&#8217;s office said he could not comment as it was not clear who had been arrested. The official reiterated Ukraine&#8217;s denial of any role in the blasts.
Successive Ukrainian governments have seen the pipelines as a symbol of, and vehicle for, Russia&#8217;s hold over European energy supplies that Kyiv argued made it hard to act against Moscow ever since Russia&#8217;s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
FORMER UKRAINIAN OFFICER?
The Wall Street Journal reported that the suspect was a retired captain in Ukraine’s armed forces and previously served in Ukraine’s security service SBU, as well as in an elite unit that defended Kyiv in the early months of Russia&#8217;s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The officer purportedly headed a team of two soldiers and four civilian divers covertly recruited by a special Ukrainian military unit to lay explosives that damaged the undersea pipelines, the WSJ said, citing investigators.
German prosecutors declined to comment on the WSJ report.
Carabinieri officers arrested the suspect overnight in San Clemente on Italy&#8217;s Adriatic coast, where he was supposed to spend a few days with his family.
&#8220;Once his presence had been verified, the Carabinieri surrounded the bungalow and launched a raid, during which the man surrendered without resistance,&#8221; a statement by the Carabinieri said, adding the suspect was 49 years old.
A police official told Reuters the suspect was arrested because, when providing documents at a hotel check-in, an alert flagging he was wanted popped up at the police headquarters, which dispatched a Carabinieri police patrol.
In September 2022, one of the two lines of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was damaged by mysterious blasts, along with both lines of Nord Stream 1 that carried Russian gas to Europe.
Moscow, without providing evidence, blamed Western sabotage for the blasts, which cut off most Russian gas supplies to the lucrative European market. The U.S. denied having anything to do with the attacks.
The Washington Post and Germany&#8217;s Der Spiegel magazine have previously said the team that carried out the attack was put together by a former Ukrainian intelligence officer, who denied involvement.
In January 2023, Germany raided a ship that it said may have been used to transport explosives and told the United Nations it believed trained divers could have attached devices to the pipelines at about 70 to 80 metres deep.
The boat, leased in Germany via a Poland-registered company, contained traces of octogen, the same explosive that was found at the underwater blast sites, according to the investigations by Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
Russia&#8217;s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered Europe&#8217;s deadliest conflict in 80 years, in which analysts say more than 1 million people have been killed or injured.
(Reporting by Rachel More, Philippe LeroyBeaulieu, Sarah Marsh, Giulio Piovaccari, Gavin Jones, Thomas Escritt, Tom Balmforth, Stine Jacobsen; writing by Matthias WilliamsEditing by Gareth Jones and Philippa Fletcher)

Gas leak at Nord Stream 2 as seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm

Ukrainian Man Arrested For Nord Stream Attacks Heightens Tensions Between Russia And The West

Nord Stream Pipeline

Politics

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

On Wednesday, I had a pretty incredible experience. I went to the Vatican for an event at St. Peter&#8217;s Square that’s held every Wednesday when the Pope holds a general audience.
It’s an amazing event. There are tens of thousands of people — divided by country of origin — who gather in St. Peter&#8217;s Square from all over the world. It&#8217;s a reminder that godly, Biblical values are the guiding force for billions of people around the world. The world seems like a very dark place from time to time, but the reality is that if you stick to eternal values, it does make the world a brighter place.
The Pope came in his vehicle, drove around, greeted the entire audience, and then he came up in the center of St. Peter&#8217;s Square, right in front of the basilica, and gave an address about the Bible which was read out loud in a variety of different languages.
I got to sit up there near where the Pope was. What the Pope said was quite beautiful. He quoted from the Book of John, the story about the Pool of Bethesda, in which Jesus goes to the Pool of Bethesda, where there are people who are ill and people who are paralyzed. There&#8217;s a man there who&#8217;s been sick and infirm for 38 years. And Jesus goes to that man and he tells him that he ought to get up, take his mat with him, and walk.
And the Pope said we should all reflect on Jesus&#8217; statement. At that moment when we feel stuck and trapped in a dead end, instead of allowing that to become an excuse for others to take care of us, we should not allow this to become a justification to avoid making decisions about our lives. Instead, we should get away from fatalism and embrace personal responsibility.
It is these kinds of messages that are implicit in the Biblical narrative that the Pope is spreading, and that is a wonderful thing for our civilization.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2220-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
I&#8217;ve talked about this before — I&#8217;m an Orthodox Jew. Obviously. I don&#8217;t have a dog in the fight when it comes to internal battles over doctrine in Catholicism, except to the extent that the Catholic Church remains a lodestone for Western civilization, a great spreader of Biblical values to humanity.
In the same way, there are Protestant churches that do the same. People of God, people of the book, people of the Bible are spreading eternal values. It is worth acknowledging that and honoring that.
That&#8217;s actually what I said to the Pope when I had an opportunity to meet him. I handed him a letter asking for an interview and introduced myself. You&#8217;re supposed to bring the Pope a gift.
I explained who I was. (Obviously, he has a lot of things to do, so I doubt he&#8217;s a regular listener to my show.) At this point, I explained to him that I was there to pay honor to the fact that he was representative of biblical values in the world. Then I added, “I happen to have been a devout White Sox fan since the time I was a child.”
Of course, Pope Leo is a White Sox fan. He recently spoke at Comiskey Park via video to some 30,000 people.
I told him that while he is Catholic and I am Jewish, one of the miracles that we can agree on is the 2005 White Sox winning the World Series. I brought with me from my personal collection a 2005 World Series White Sox baseball signed by the entire team, and gave it to him.
He seemed a little bit surprised, not by the fact that I was giving a gift, but because it was a gift and not just me showing him something cool, I suppose. You could see him crack a bit of a smile as he received it. He was pretty delighted by it.
So it was really a terrific experience. Honestly, the entire event was amazing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It was an honor to meet His Holiness, <a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pontifex</a> in Vatican City today, and to thank him for standing up for Biblical values in a chaotic world…and to present him with a signed 2005 White Sox World Series baseball I had in my collection (we’re both fans). <a href="https://t.co/hxlhUnKU7F">pic.twitter.com/hxlhUnKU7F</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1935350580458733762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
My impression of him is that Pope Leo seems to be a man who has enmeshed himself in the office. And when you meet the Pope, you can see he’s a deeply humble man. You can tell that right away just from meeting him. And you could see the sheer joy that he had, I think, from getting the baseball, which is such a small thing for this man who has the weight of the spiritual fate of over a billion people on his shoulders.
I share that because there are a lot of moments in the political world that are not uplifting. There are a lot of moments that are fraught, that feel as though darkness is encroaching.
And so, there needs to be a meeting of the minds between all of us who believe in Biblical values, and that those Biblical values ought to be purveyed. It&#8217;s one of the reasons why I have encouraged people who are Catholic to go to church, people who are Protestant to go to church, and Jews to go to synagogue and relearn their traditions and engage with those traditions.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of the strengthening of the Catholic Church and the strengthening of Protestant churches all over the United States and the rest of the West.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of people reengaging with the values that made the West what it was in the first place.

Pope Leo XIV Arrives To Lead His Weekly General Audience At St Peter’s Square In The Vatican On June 18, 2025.

I Met The Pope. It Was Amazing.

Ben Shapiro

Bible

Catholic Church

Catholics

Major League Baseball

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The Vatican

A security camera captured the moment when a tourist broke a Swarovski crystal-studded museum display dubbed the “Van Gogh” chair after sitting in it.
The incident occurred in April, but has been circulating on social media after just being released by the Palazzo Maffei museum, which is located in the Italian city of Verona.
The video shows a woman at first pretending to sit in the chair art piece, which was made by Italian artist Nicola Bolla. Next, her male companion gets into the same pose, only in his case puts his weight on the chair, causing both of the front legs to buckle. The man stumbles before the camera captures the pair rushing out of the room.
“They waited for the staff to leave the room,” museum director Vanessa Carlon said in a video posted on its social media. “And then … off they went, indifferent to what had happened.”
“Sometimes we lose our brains to take a picture, and we don’t think about the consequences,” Carlon added. “Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us—that isn’t an accident. This is a nightmare for any museum.”
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“On the chair was a note warning people not to touch, and of course it is placed on a pedestal, so it’s quite clear it’s not a real chair,” Carlotta Menegazzo, an art historian who works at Palazzo Maffei, told <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn05dd4pz0jo">BBC</a>. She added that the sculpture only resembled a chair, but was actually crafted out of crystal-studded tinfoil.
The piece, which was inspired by Van Gogh&#8217;s famous 1888 painting &#8220;Van Gogh&#8217;s Chair,&#8221; has since been repaired by the museum’s restoration department and is on display to the public again. Reps said the video has been released as a reminder to visitors about how to treat the artwork at their facility.
&#8220;Art must be respected!&#8221; the museum said in a press release, per USA Today. They added that the video was released &#8220;to make this serious event an opportunity for reflection for everyone.&#8221;
The couple has not been identified.

Van Gogh chair

WATCH: Man Sits On, Breaks Swarovski-Encrusted ‘Van Gogh Chair’ At Italian Museum

Tourism

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have invited Pope Leo XIV to the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Daily Wire on Monday.
Leavitt took questions from the press at a 9:00 a.m. briefing, where she responded to The Daily Wire&#8217;s question about Vice President JD Vance&#8217;s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome.
“My understanding was it was a good meeting, a productive meeting, and we&#8217;re grateful that the vice president did it and that he also went to the Pope&#8217;s first mass in Rome,&#8221; Leavitt shared.
&#8220;I also have an update on that,&#8221; the press secretary added, sharing: &#8220;The Vice President passed along a letter to the Pope from the President and from the First Lady, extending their warm wishes and inviting him to the White House as soon as he possibly can come.”
Pope Leo and Vance sat down together for a 45-minute one-on-one discussion, after which Rubio joined them. Second Lady Usha Vance and Rubio&#8217;s wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, joined the leaders afterward for an exchange of gifts. Vance gifted the Holy Father a Chicago Bears jersey with &#8220;Pope Leo XIV&#8221; on the back, a gesture towards the pope&#8217;s American heritage.
<div id="attachment_921995" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-invites-pope-leo-to-the-white-house-as-soon-as-he-possibly-can-come/pope-leo-xiv-meets-with-jd-vance-and-marco-rubio-the-day-after-inauguration-mass-2" rel="attachment wp-att-921995"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-921995" class="wp-image-921995 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2215850546-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2215850546-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2215850546-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2215850546-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2215850546.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Pope Leo XIV exchanges gifts with Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha (Photo by Simone Risoluti Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)</div>
Vance also gave the pope &#8220;The City of God&#8221; and &#8220;On Christian Doctrine,&#8221; by St. Augustine. Vance chose St. Augustine as his patron saint when he converted to Catholicism, and Pope Leo is the first pope from the Order of St. Augustine.
&#8220;This morning in Vatican City, Vice President JD Vance met privately with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,&#8221; the Vice President&#8217;s office said in a Monday statement about the visit. &#8220;The Pope also held expanded meetings with the Vice President, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the U.S. delegation.&#8221;
&#8220;Following his meetings with the Pope, the Vice President met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations,&#8221; the statement added. &#8220;The Vice President and Archbishop Gallagher discussed religious freedom, the persecution of Christians around the world, and the shared commitment of President Trump and Pope Leo XIV to stop the killing in Ukraine and the Middle East.&#8221;
Vance met with Zelensky on Sunday in Rome, where the two leaders &#8220;discussed their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and provided updates on the current state of negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace,&#8221; according to a readout from the vice president&#8217;s office.
<div id="attachment_921975" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-invites-pope-leo-to-the-white-house-as-soon-as-he-possibly-can-come/unnamed-2-4" rel="attachment wp-att-921975"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-921975" class="wp-image-921975 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-864x576.jpg" alt="Photo courtesy of the Office of the Vice President. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/unnamed-2-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Photo courtesy of the Office of the Vice President.</div>

Pope Leo XIV Meets With JD Vance And Marco Rubio, The Day After Inauguration Mass

Trump Invites Pope Leo To The White House ‘As Soon As He Possibly Can Come’

J.D. Vance

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