No helicopter. IOC president Kirsty Coventry to rely on ground transport for Milan Cortina Games

ROME (AP) — For her first Olympics as IOC president, Kirsty Coventry could probably order up a helicopter if she so desired to get from one far-flung venue to another at the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games.

After all, with sports clusters dotted across northern Italy covering an area of more than 22,000 square kilometres (nearly 10,000 square miles), the 2026 Games will be the most widespread Winter Olympics ever.

Yet Coventry — the first woman and first African (she’s from Zimbabwe) elected to one of the most powerful jobs in world sports — will stick to more conventional travel methods.

“We will be going by car or bus or however the transport is used,” Coventry told The Associated Press on Friday after attending a cauldron ceremony at the presidential palace. in the Italian capital.

The Feb. 6-22 Games venue plan includes: skating sports in Milan; freestyle and snowboarding in Livigno; men’s Alpine skiing and ski mountaineering in Bormio; Nordic sports in Val di Fiemme; biathlon in Anterselva; and women’s Alpine skiing, curling and sliding in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Coventry hopes to see them all.

“We are going to do our best and I think right now where we are in the program in the agenda, yes, that’s the plan,” she said.

While parts of the controversial sliding venue in Cortina and the main hockey arena are still not ready, Coventry voiced no concern about the local organizing committee’s preparations for the Games with two months to go before the opening ceremony.

“We’re working really well and very closely with the organizing committee and with the whole team here,” she said. “So we’re very happy with the progression and everything that we see and we’re getting excited for the next few weeks.”

Also Friday, the draw for the World Cup soccer tournament was being held in Washington amid a backdrop to President Donald Trump expanding restrictions on travel to the United States and hardening his rhetoric against immigrants.

Two years after the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. will host the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and Coventry has not yet met with Trump.

“We always learn from sporting events that come before us and so far there’s been a lot of good positive goodwill that’s moving forward in the right direction,” Coventry told The AP of the IOC and FIFA’s dealings with the Trump administration.

The Milan Cortina Olympics will also be held amid ongoing bans of most Russian athletes due to the war in Ukraine, and with the war in Gaza still fresh in mind.

“We recognize the power that sport plays in breaking down barriers and building bridges and strengthening communities,” Coventry said earlier during her speech at the lighting of the torch-relay cauldron.

“The flame symbolizes the true spirit of the Olympic Games. One that can only flourish when every eligible athlete, team and official can take part without any discrimination,” Coventry added. “The Olympic Games exists to bring people together, to break down the walls that divide us and to inspire the dreams and hopes of the next generation.”

Andrew Dampf is at https://x.com/AndrewDampf

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

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry smiles during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cauldron lighting ceremony, in front of the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

From left, Organizing Committee President Giovanni Malagò, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry,and CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio attend the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cauldron lighting, in front of the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry s flanked by Italian President Sergio Mattarella during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cauldron lighting, in front of the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Italian President Sergio Mattarella is flanked by nternational Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cauldron lighting, in front of the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry delivers her speech during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cauldron lighting, in front of the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is ticking toward the edge of its all-time high on Friday as Wall Street drifts toward the finish of a quiet week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and is just 0.2% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher. The Russell 2000 index of small stocks edged back 0.2% from its record set the day before.

Netflix offered some splash and fell 2.1% after the streaming company said it would buy Warner Bros. following its split from Discovery Global. Netflix will pay $72 billion in cash and stock for the company behind HBO Max, “Casablanca” and “Harry Potter,” and Warner Bros. Discovery rose 2.6%.

Ulta Beauty jumped 11% after the retailer reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Kecia Steelman said its customers are broadly feeling pressure, but Ulta saw growth across its categories, particularly in e-commerce. It raised its forecast for revenue over the full year.

Another encouraging signal for the crucial holiday shopping season came from Victoria’s Secret & Co. It reported a smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it likewise raised its forecast for sales over the full year. Its stock jumped 14.4%.

They worked against a 3.9% drop for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts forecast, though its profit topped expectations.

The U.S. stock market broadly has been much quieter this week. It’s a respite following earlier weeks of sharp and scary swings driven by worries that too many dollars may be flowing into artificial-intelligence technology, along with concerns about what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates.

After some back and forth, the widespread expectation among traders is that the Fed will cut its main interest rate next week in hopes of shoring up the slowing U.S. job market. If it does, that would be the third cut of the year.

Investors love lower interest rates because they boost prices for investments and can juice the economy. The downside is that they can worsen inflation, which is stubbornly remaining above the Fed’s 2% target.

The S&P 500 has run back toward its all-time high, which was set in late October, in large part because of expectations for a coming cut to interest rates. That leaves the question of what Fed officials will do next year on rates, with traders waiting for any clues that may come out of next week’s Fed meeting.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady amid the wait. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.11%, where it was late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, edged up to 3.54% from 3.52%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

Germany’s DAX returned 0.9%, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% for two of the world’s bigger gains.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% after data showed household spending in Japan fell 3.0% in October from a year earlier. It was the sharpest drop since January 2024. Japanese markets have been shaky recently after the Bank of Japan hinted that hikes to interest rates may be coming.

AP Writer Teresa Cerojano contributed.

Options trader Joseph D'Arrigo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)