MILWAUKEE (AP) — When American speedskater Erin Jackson won the 500 meters at the Beijing Games four years ago, she knew, of course, that it was her first Olympic medal. She also was aware that it had been a while — 28 years, to be exact — since a woman from the U.S. finished first in that event.
What she had no idea about until days later: Jackson was the first Black woman, from any country, to claim an individual gold medal, in any sport, at any Winter Olympics.
Jackson definitely does not want to be the last.
“It was just really surprising, I guess, because I felt like, ‘How could that be?’” she said in an interview with The Associated Press at the U.S. Speedskating trials ahead of the Milan Cortina Games. “When you think about how many Winter Olympics we’ve had, I just thought it was really strange. I hope people can see my story and the stories of other Black women in winter sports and then, hopefully, we’ll have more coming up soon.”
They're not there yet.
The 33-year-old Jackson is the only Black athlete among the 21 speedskaters on the long track and short track squads for the United States at these Olympics, although this could be the most diverse Winter Games roster the country's had overall.
“I can’t imagine being a younger kid watching the Olympic Games and never seeing somebody that looked like me do what I’m trying to do,” said U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe, a two-time bronze medalist. “For her to be able to do that, and she is now that face for young Black girls to be able to look up and say, ’She can do it? Now I can do it' — it's monumental.”
Bowe famously gave up her spot in the 500 four years ago to her longtime friend after Jackson slipped at the trials; an extra U.S. berth later opened up, allowing both to race in China.
Jackson, already the first Black woman to win a World Cup 500, took full advantage. She was focused on the piece of metal she wanted dangling from her neck, not the historical significance.
“We didn’t even think about that at the time. I didn’t even realize it until a day or two later,” U.S. Speedskating national team coach Ryan Shimabukuro said. “She’s proud of it, obviously. And I’m proud of her for it. But we didn’t really think about that, as much as: What is the best way to skate the fastest?”
These days, though, increasing the kinds of faces seen in her sport is one of Jackson’s goals, along with bringing home more hardware from Italy, where she'll compete in the 500 and 1,000 after winning both distances at the trials despite being about a month removed from a torn left hamstring.
“I just hope that I can help other people of color get involved in winter sports and speedskating. … It’s really important to see people like you achieving something, because then maybe that can inspire you to try the same things,” said Jackson, who grew up in Ocala, Florida, and was a top inline skater before switching to the ice four months before qualifying for the 2018 Olympic speedskating team.
“I just always want to be a good example," she said, “or someone who other people can look to.”
When she's done competing, Jackson intends to set up a foundation modeled after EDGE Outdoors, a group based in Washington state that helps provide scholarships for minority women to get into skiing and snowboarding. Jackson has worked with them, reviewing scholarship applications. She also has been involved with the Utah-based Sisters in Sports Foundation, which offers mentorship and funding for female athletes with disabilities.
“One of the biggest issues with winter sports is there is a really big barrier to entry around cost. They're really expensive sports to get into,” Jackson said. “That kind of limits the talent we can have and the people who can give it a shot.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
FILE - Erin Jackson of the United States hoists an American flag after winning the gold medal in the speedskating women's 500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, file)
FILE - Gold Medalist Erin Jackson of the United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for the speedskating women's 500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, file)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats and White House have struck a deal to avert a partial government shutdown and temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security as they negotiate new restrictions for President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement.
As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, the two sides have agreed to separate homeland security funding from the rest of the legislation and fund DHS for two weeks while they debate Democratic demands for curbs on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The potential deal comes after Democrats voted to block legislation to fund DHS on Thursday.
Trump said in a social media post that “Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September,” while extending current funding for Homeland Security. He encouraged members of both parties to cast a “much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ vote.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had been “vehemently opposed” to breaking up the funding package, but “if it is broken up, we will have to move it as quickly as possible. We can’t have the government shut down.”
Democrats have requested a short extension—two weeks or less—and say they are prepared to block the wide-ranging spending bill if their demands aren’t met, denying Republicans the votes they need to pass it and potentially triggering a shutdown.
Republicans were pushing for a longer extension of the Homeland Security funding, but the two sides were “getting closer,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
The rare bipartisan talks between Trump and his frequent adversary, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, came after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minnesota over the weekend and calls by senators in both parties for a full investigation. Schumer called it “a moment of truth.”
“The American people support law enforcement. They support border security. They do not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens,” Schumer said.
With no final agreement yet and an uncertain path ahead, the standoff threatened to plunge the country into another shutdown, just two months after Democrats blocked a spending bill over expiring federal health care subsidies. That dispute closed the government for 43 days as Republicans refused to negotiate.
The fall shutdown ended when a small group of moderate Democrats broke away to strike a deal with Republicans, but Democrats are more unified this time after the fatal shootings of Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.
Democrats have laid out several demands, asking the White House to “end roving patrols” in cities and coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, including requiring tighter rules for warrants.
They also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules. Schumer said agents should be required to have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies.
The Democratic caucus is united in those “common sense reforms,” and the burden is on Republicans to accept them, Schumer said.
“Boil it all down, what we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the same rules that your local police department does,” said Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota. “There has to be accountability.”
Earlier on Thursday, Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, stated during a press conference in Minneapolis that federal immigration officials are developing a plan to reduce the number of agents in Minnesota, but this would depend on cooperation from state authorities.
As the two sides narrowed in on a spending deal, the length of a temporary extension for Homeland Security funding emerged as a sticking point. Thune said Thursday that two weeks wasn’t enough time to negotiate a final compromise.
“We’ll see where discussions are going between (Democrats) and the White House on that,” Thune said.
Even if the two sides strike a deal, negotiations down the road on a final agreement on the Homeland Security bill are likely to be difficult.
Democrats want Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown to end. “If the Trump administration resists reforms, we shut down the agency,” said Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
“We need to take a stand,” he said.
But Republicans are unlikely to agree to all of the Democrats' demands.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he is opposed to requiring immigration enforcement officers to show their faces, even as he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for decisions that he said are “tarnishing” the agency’s reputation.
“You know, there’s a lot of vicious people out there, and they’ll take a picture of your face, and the next thing you know, your children or your wife or your husband are being threatened at home,” Tillis said.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said some of the Democratic proposals “make sense,” such as better training and body cameras. Still, he said he was putting his Senate colleagues “on notice” that if Democrats try to make changes to the funding bill, he would insist on new language preventing local governments from resisting the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“I think the best legislative solution for our country would be to adopt some of these reforms to ICE and Border Patrol,” Graham posted on X, but also end so-called “sanctuary city” policies.
Across the Capitol, House Republicans have said they do not want any changes to the bill they passed last week. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the Republican president and ICE.
“The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” they wrote.
Speaker Johnson appeared open to the changes, albeit reluctantly, and told the AP he would want to approve the bills “as quickly as possible” once the Senate acts.
“The American people will be hanging in the balance over this,” Johnson said. “A shutdown doesn’t help anybody.”
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Joey Cappelletti, and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks with reporters following a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans on spending legislation that funds the Department of Homeland Security and a swath of other government agencies, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
With a partial government shutdown looming by week's end, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is surrounded by reporters following a closed-door Republican meeting on spending legislation that funds the Department of Homeland Security and a swath of other government agencies as the country reels from the deaths of two people at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Donald Trump speaks during the launch of a program known as Trump Accounts at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., waits to speak to reporters following a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
