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US figure skater Alysa Liu won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics on Thursday, becoming the first American to claim gold in the event since 2002 and the first to hit the Olympic podium in 20 years.

Her triumphant performance caps a remarkable comeback after she stepped away from the sport in 2022.

Liu's final score of 226.79 was too much for her competitors to overcome. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai won silver and bronze respectively.

“I’m fine with any outcome," Liu said earlier in the day. "As long as I’m out there, and I am. So there’s nothing to lose.”

Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III, leaves Aylsham Police Station in Norfolk, England, on Thursday, February 19, the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police previously said they were reviewing claims that Andrew shared sensitive information with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy. The former prince has denied all accusations against him and insisted he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior of which Epstein is accused. He has not commented publicly on these more recent allegations of misconduct in public office.

Phil Noble/Reuters

A 2-year-old <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2026%2F02%2F18%2Fsport%2Fdog-winter-olympics-cross-country-ski">Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul</a> runs alongside Tena Hadzic from Croatia in the women’s cross-country team sprint during the <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2026%2F02%2F07%2Fsport%2Fgallery%2Fmilan-cortina-winter-olympics">Winter Olympics</a> on Wednesday, February 18.

A 2-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul runs alongside Tena Hadzic from Croatia in the women’s cross-country team sprint during the Winter Olympics on Wednesday, February 18.

Terje Pedersen/Alamy Stock Photo

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives outside court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, February 18, to take the stand in <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2026%2F02%2F18%2Ftech%2Fmeta-mark-zuckerberg-testifies-social-media-addiction-trial">a landmark trial</a> accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming kids' mental health through addictive platforms.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives outside court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, February 18, to take the stand in a landmark trial accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming kids' mental health through addictive platforms.

Mike Blake/Reuters

People perform a lion dance as fireworks explode during Lunar New Year celebrations in Panama City, Panama, on Wednesday, February 18.

Matias Delacroix/AP

A newborn lamb rests under a heat lamp on Eugene McLarnon’s farm as all his livestock remain inside due to heavy rainfall in Portglenone, Northern Ireland, on Saturday, February 14.

Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

Norway's Karoline Offigstad Knotten shoots during the women's biathlon 4 x 6km relay in the <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2026%2F02%2F07%2Fsport%2Fgallery%2Fmilan-cortina-winter-olympics">Winter Olympics</a> on Wednesday, February 18.

Norway's Karoline Offigstad Knotten shoots during the women's biathlon 4 x 6km relay in the Winter Olympics on Wednesday, February 18.

Francois-Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images

A young shepherd tends to his flock in the hills near the village of Asira al-Shamaliya, near Nablus in the West Bank, during a dust storm on Saturday, February 14.

Zain Jaafar/AFPGetty Images

A woman sleeps as she takes shelter inside a metro station during an air raid alert in Kyiv, Ukraine, as overnight Russian drone and missile strikes continue across the country Tuesday, February 17.

Alina Smutko/Reuters

Workers suspended on steel cables clean the windows and the facade of a high-rise building in Sharjah, near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, February 18.

Altaf Qadri/AP

A shop owner arranges a variety of fruits ahead of the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar, India, on Tuesday, February 17.

Faisal Khan/NurPhoto/Getty Images

A raccoon waits for food in Panama City, Panama, on Sunday, February 15.

Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images

The northern lights are seen through the mouth of an ice cave on the south shore of Lake Superior in Wisconsin on Saturday, February 14.

George Ilstrup

A teacher holds a class for Sudanese children at a school in the Aboutengue refugee camp near Adre, Chad, on Wednesday, February 18.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A bird catches a fish in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City on Tuesday, February 17.

Marco Ugarte/AP

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates winning gold in the men's giant slalom race on Saturday, February 14. <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fsport%2Flive-news%2Fmilan-winter-olympics-results-highlights-medals-02-14-26%3Fpost-id%3Dcmlmcpey4001f356t0i7a6dpf">He made history</a> by securing the first ever medal at a Winter Games for Brazil — and South America.

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates winning gold in the men's giant slalom race on Saturday, February 14. He made history by securing the first ever medal at a Winter Games for Brazil — and South America.

John Locher/AP

A Pima County Sheriff's vehicle sits at the home of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday, February 19. Law enforcement officials continue to search for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home on January 31.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Models take part in a Carolina Herrera fashion show during <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2026%2F02%2F18%2Fstyle%2Fnew-york-fashion-week-fall-2026-women-designers">New York Fashion Week</a> on Thursday, February 12.

Models take part in a Carolina Herrera fashion show during New York Fashion Week on Thursday, February 12.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

A child visits a park in Beijing on Sunday, February 15, ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

People wrestle in a moving ring during a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans on Tuesday, February 17.

Matthew Hinton/AP

Displaced Palestinian children carry Ramadan lanterns as they play on the ruins of destroyed buildings in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday, February 15.

Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump speaks during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Thursday, February 19. In his remarks, Trump said the US will contribute $10 billion to the organization, which is aimed at resolving international conflicts. He also said that the Board of Peace will be “looking over” the United Nations and alluded to potential military action against Iran if talks fail.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US skier Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates after <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fsport%2Flive-news%2Fmilan-winter-olympics-results-highlights-medals-02-18-26%3Fpost-id%3Dcmls1sb3m00003b65cbndbtoz">winning the women's slalom</a> on Wednesday, February 18, ending her eight-year Olympic drought. She won with a time of 1:39.10 — 1.5 seconds faster than second place.

US skier Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates after winning the women's slalom on Wednesday, February 18, ending her eight-year Olympic drought. She won with a time of 1:39.10 — 1.5 seconds faster than second place.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Demonstrators in Washington, DC, hold a large Iranian flag dating from before the 1979 Islamic revolution during a march in support of the people of Iran on Saturday, February 14.

Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Minnesota Twins outfielder Kyler Fedko warms up during a spring training workout in Fort Myers, Florida, on Monday, February 16.

Gerald Herbert/AP

<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2026%2F02%2F19%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-banner-justice-department-building">A giant banner of Donald Trump</a> hangs outside of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday, February 19.

A giant banner of Donald Trump hangs outside of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday, February 19.

Allison Robbert/AP

Revelers perform during a Carnival parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday, February 14.

Jean Carniel/Reuters

A train passes a railroad crossing between flooded fields in Nidderau-Eichen near Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday, February 18.

Michael Probst/AP

Missouri Tigers center Shawn Phillips Jr. dunks during a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Columbia, Missouri, on Wednesday, February 18. Missouri won 81-80.

Ed Zurga/Getty Images

A cable car navigates the Aiguille du Midi, a mountain in the French Alps near Chamonix, France, on Friday, February 13.

Oliver Chassignole/AFP/Getty Images

Japanese figure skaters Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara compete on Monday, February 16. <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fsport%2Flive-news%2Fmilan-winter-olympics-results-highlights-medals-02-16-26%3Fpost-id%3Dcmlpp0b0t00003b6sr3902yze">They won gold</a>, Japan's first medal in Olympic pair skating.

Japanese figure skaters Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara compete on Monday, February 16. They won gold, Japan's first medal in Olympic pair skating.

Bernat Armangue/AP

A performer blows fire during Lunar New Year celebrations in Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday, February 17.

Lisa Marie David/Reuters

A UN Peacekeeper inspects a car in an abandoned showroom while patrolling the buffer zone separating Cyprus and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Tuesday, February 17. In 1974, Turkey invaded northern Cyprus following a coup backed by the military government of Greece. The island has since been divided in two, a northern third controlled by the Turkish Cypriots, and the southern two-thirds — which is internationally recognized — by Greek Cypriots.

Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images