Nicol Delago earns Italy's ski team another win as home Olympics near. Lindsey Vonn 3rd in downhill

TARVISIO, Italy (AP) — The Italian ski team is on a roll with less than three weeks to go before a home Olympics. And so is 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn.

Nicol Delago claimed her first World Cup victory in a downhill on home snow Saturday, with Vonn in third place for her fifth podium in five downhills this season.

Delago matched Italian teammate Giovanni Franzoni, who claimed his first victory in a super-G in Wengen, Switzerland, on Friday.

“It certainly hasn’t always been easy over the years, so today is huge,” Delago said. “Yesterday I watched the video of Franzoni’s race and that provided extra motivation.”

The Milan Cortina Winter Games open on Feb. 6 with the women racing in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the men in Bormio.

Delago, who also led the final training session on Friday, finished 0.20 seconds ahead of Kira Weidle-Winkelmann of Germany and 0.26 ahead of Vonn.

Delago’s previous best finishes were three second-place results and two third-place results. Her younger sister, Nadia, won the bronze medal in downhill at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Nadia Delago was 10th Saturday.

“We motivate each other both on the positive days and the negative days,” Nicol Delago said of her sister.

It was the first World Cup downhill in Tarvisio in 15 years and Vonn was one of only two athletes in the current field who had raced it before. In her six previous races in Tarvisio across downhill, super-G and super-combined, Vonn earned two wins and four runner-up finishes.

“I don’t really remember the track,” Vonn said. “But I do remember that the atmosphere was amazing and the people were amazing. ... And I met some fans earlier and they were singing songs about me. It was awesome. So I’m so happy to be back on the podium again under tough conditions. So it couldn’t be better.”

In the downhill standings, Vonn increased her advantage to 144 points ahead of Emma Aicher of Germany. Four World Cup downhills remain this season.

In the overall standings, Vonn moved up to third place with 510 points, trailing only American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (923 points) and Camille Rast (753) — neither of whom are currently racing downhill.

The race was characterized by fog hovering over the course midway down — limiting visibility.

Nicol Delago nearly lost control in the foggy section as her skis split apart. But she quickly recovered and then added to her advantage at every check point. At the finish, she celebrated with a big smile and kissed one of her skis, even though with the No. 3 bib most of the favorites were still to come down.

Vonn was fastest at both speed checks, registering 136.3 kph (84.7 mph) on top. But with such high speed she veered off course into fresh snow midway down — slowing her slightly.

The Olympic downhill in Cortina is scheduled for Feb. 8.

A super-G is scheduled for Tarvisio on Sunday.

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

United States' Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Nicol Delago right, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, hugs her sister Italy's Nadia Delago as they pose for a photograph, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates taking third place in an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Nicol Delago celebrates after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italy's Nadia Delago celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Germany's Kira Weidle Winkelmann speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Nicol Delago right, hugs her sister Italy's Nadia Delago at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Germany's Kira Weidle Winkelmann celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, center, smiles at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italy's Nicol Delago speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italy's Nicol Delago celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Protesters for and against the Trump administration's latest immigration crackdown clashed in Minneapolis on Saturday as the governor's office announced that National Guard troops had been mobilized and stood ready to assist state law enforcement, though they were not yet deployed to city streets.

There have been protests every day since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers.

A large group of protesters turned out in downtown Minneapolis and confronted a much smaller group of people attending an anti-Somali and pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement rally. They chased the pro-ICE group away and forced at least one member to take off a shirt they deemed objectionable.

Jake Lang, who organized the anti-Islam and pro-ICE demonstration, appeared to be injured as he left the scene, with bruises and scrapes on his head. He said via social media beforehand that he intended to “burn a Quran” on the steps of City Hall, but it was not clear if he carried out that plan.

Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for Jan. 6 defendants last year. Lang recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.

In Minneapolis, snowballs and water balloons were also thrown before an armored police van and heavily equipped city police arrived.

“We’re out here to show Nazis and ICE and DHS and MAGA you are not welcome in Minneapolis,” protester Luke Rimington said. “Stay out of our city, stay out of our state. Go home.”

The state guard said in a statement that it had been “mobilized” by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to support the Minnesota State Patrol “to assist in providing traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully.”

Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, a spokesperson for the guard, said it was “staged and ready” but yet to be deployed.

The announcement came more than a week after Walz, a frequent critic and target of Trump, told the guard to be ready to support law enforcement in the state.

During the daily protests, demonstrators have railed against masked immigration officers pulling people from homes and cars and other aggressive tactics. The operation in the deeply liberal Twin Cities has claimed at least one life: Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, was shot by an ICE officer during a Jan. 7 confrontation.

On Friday a federal judge ruled that immigration officers cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities, including while observing officers during the Minnesota crackdown.

During a news conference Saturday, a man who fled civil war in Liberia as a child said he has been afraid to leave his Minneapolis home since being released from an immigration detention center following his arrest last weekend.

Video of federal officers breaking down Garrison Gibson's front door with a battering ram Jan. 11 become another rallying point for protesters who oppose the crackdown.

Gibson, 38, was ordered to be deported, apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision. After his recent arrest, a judge ruled that federal officials did not give him enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked.

Then Gibson was taken back into custody for several hours Friday when he made a routine check-in with immigration officials. Gibson’s cousin Abena Abraham said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told her White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller ordered the second arrest.

The White House denied the account of the re-arrest and that Miller had anything to do with it.

Gibson was flown to a Texas immigration detention facility but returned home following the judge's ruling. His family used a dumbbell to keep their damaged front door closed amid subfreezing temperatures before spending $700 to fix it.

“I don’t leave the house,” Gibson said at a news conference.

DHS said an “activist judge” was again trying to stop the deportation of “criminal illegal aliens.”

“We will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

Gibson said he has done everything he was supposed to do: “If I was a violent person, I would not have been out these past 17 years, checking in."

Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed.

Garrison Gibson, a Liberian man who has lived in the U.S. for around three decades, shows reporters his shirt reading “Immigrants make America great” during a news conference Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)

A Jake Lang supporter clashes with counterprotesters the March Against Minnesota Fraud rally near Minneapolis City Hall, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jake Lang, center, who organized the protest March Against Minnesota Fraud, clutches his head as he leaves the rally near Minneapolis City Hall, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A Jake Lang supporter bleeds from his head as he is chased away by pro-immigration protesters Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A pro-immigration protester lifts up Jake Lang's vest after an altercation at the March Against Minnesota Fraud rally near Minneapolis City Hall, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Garrison Gibson becomes emotional as he is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Teyana Gibson Brown, second from left, wife of Garrison Gibson, reacts after federal immigration officers arrested Garrison Gibson, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal immigration officers prepare to enter a home to make an arrest after an officer used a battering ram to break down a door Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Garrison Gibson, a Liberian man who has lived in the U.S. for around three decades, shows a photo of his arrest on a t-shirt as he speaks with reporters during a news conference Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)

Garrison Gibson, a Liberian man who has lived in the U.S. for around three decades, speaks with reporters during a news conference Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)