IGLS, Austria (AP) — Kaysha Love of the U.S. placed second in a World Cup monobob race on Saturday, her best finish of the season.
Love won a bronze in a two-woman race at Sigulda, Latvia, in December, then dealt with a virus over the holiday break and slumped a bit in her first three outings since that illness — finishing no better than 10th.
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Second placed Kaysha Love, of the United States, winner Lisa Buckwitz, of Germany, and third placed Laura Nolte, of Germany, from left, pose together after competing in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Second placed Kaysha Love, of the United States, winner Lisa Buckwitz, of Germany, and third placed Laura Nolte, of Germany, from left, pose together after competing in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Kaysha Love, of the United States, competes in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Second placed Kaysha Love, of the United States, winner Lisa Buckwitz, of Germany, and third placed Laura Nolte, of Germany, from left, pose together after competing in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Kaysha Love, of the United States, celebrates as she finishes her second run in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Second placed Kaysha Love, of the United States, winner Lisa Buckwitz, of Germany, and third placed Laura Nolte, of Germany, from left, pose together after competing in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Love, a 2026 U.S. Olympic hopeful, roared back Saturday in Igls with the second-best time in both heats — finishing second to Lisa Buckwitz of Germany by 0.04 seconds. Laura Nolte of Germany was third.
In two-man earlier Saturday at Igls, Germany got its seventh overall sweep of the medal positions so far in this World Cup season. It’s happened three times in two-woman races and now four times in two-man events.
Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer got the win, Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schüller were second, and Adam Ammour and Nick Stadelmann were third.
Frank del Duca of the U.S. was a season-best fourth, his sled getting pushed by Charles Volker.
Julia Taubitz of Germany won a women's singles World Cup race at Winterberg, Germany, on Saturday, edging Madeleine Egle of Austria for the victory.
Emily Sweeney of the U.S. was third, her second singles medal of the season.
“I really struggled to find a clean line down, but I’m happy with a third, for sure,” Sweeney said.
In women’s doubles, Selina Egle and Lara Kipp of Austria won their fifth consecutive race to further solidify their lead over Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal of Germany in the points race.
The Degenhardt-Rosenthal sled was second for the fifth time in six races this season, while Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer of Italy were a season-best third.
Chevonne Forgan and Sophie Kirkby of the U.S. finished seventh but remained third overall in the season-long standings.
In men’s doubles, the German team of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt won their second race in six chances this season and moved atop the season-long standings.
Austrian sleds got the next two spots: Juri Gatt and Riccado Schoepf were a season-best second, while Yannick Muelle and Armin Frauscher placed third for the third consecutive race.
Martins Bots and Roberts Plume of Latvia were sixth, and that helped the Wendl-Arlt team move 11 points past them in the overall standings. Bots and Plume had a 39-point lead over the Germans entering Saturday.
The top U.S. sled in men’s doubles was Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa, which placed ninth.
Officials from all three sliding sports — bobsled, skeleton and luge — viewed the progress of construction at the track that is being rebuilt in Italy for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
If the track is not ready in time, the Olympic sliding competitions will be held in Lake Placid, New York.
Italy’s decision to rebuild the century-old track in Cortina at a cost of nearly $90 million has been met with fierce opposition by the International Olympic Committee. There were a number of other suggestions, such has holding sliding events at tracks in nearby Austria or Switzerland.
“Meanwhile, the schedule remains tight and challenging in order to be ready for the start of ice making at the beginning of March and the pre-homologation of the track at the end of March,” read a statement from Italian Olympic organizers. “The parties decided to continue a close and collaborative monitoring of progress, share information and meet again mid February.”
It isn't yet clear what will happen if the pre-homologation — a critical part of the track's testing and certification processes — can't go forward in March as scheduled.
Bobsled: World Cup two-woman and four-man Saturday at Igls.
Luge: World Cup men’s singles and team relay Sunday at Winterberg.
Skeleton: World Cup season finales for men’s, women’s and mixed team Feb. 7 at Lillehammer, Norway.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Kaysha Love, of the United States, competes in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Second placed Kaysha Love, of the United States, winner Lisa Buckwitz, of Germany, and third placed Laura Nolte, of Germany, from left, pose together after competing in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Kaysha Love, of the United States, celebrates as she finishes her second run in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Second placed Kaysha Love, of the United States, winner Lisa Buckwitz, of Germany, and third placed Laura Nolte, of Germany, from left, pose together after competing in the women's monobob at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.
The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.
“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”
The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.
The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.
“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”
New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.
"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.
The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.
The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.
Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.
The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.
Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.
State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”
The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.
It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
