CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Moving her arms like a conductor, Swiss skier Malorie Blanc stood in the leader's box and enjoyed the singing and waving of flags by her home crowd in the stands.
Blanc gave Crans-Montana something to cheer about, a month after the fatal fire in a bar, by winning the last women’s World Cup race before the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday, with Lindsey Vonn sitting out the super-G a day after hurting her left knee in a downhill crash.
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Switzerland's Malorie Blanc, center, celebrates on the podium with the team after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Breezy Johnson celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Italy's Sofia Goggia speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
The result gave the toned-down event in the Valais canton (state) a fitting winner with Blanc being from nearby Ayent, which is just a 20-minute drive away from Crans-Montana.
“I am so happy that I could deliver this show, it’s really a gift for the people and and their support,” said the 22-year-old Blanc, the junior world super-G champion in 2024 who was second in a downhill in Austria a year ago for her only previous World Cup podium.
Blanc edged out 2018 Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia by 0.18 seconds, with Breezy Johnson coming 0.36 behind in third for Vonn’s teammate's first career super-G podium.
Hosting the last pre-Olympic races in the wake of the New Year's Day tragedy that killed 40 people and injured 116, Crans-Montana stayed clear of the usual festivities at ski venues, like public bib draws and concerts.
The finish area was stripped of its usual vibrant color and advertising, which were replaced by white and black signs of mourning that read “Our thoughts are with you” in multiple languages.
“I wasn't sure if it would put me under pressure, but I tried to see it as positive pressure,” Blanc said about skiing at her home race under the circumstances.
“I tried to focus on my skiing, I heard the people at the start, that pushed me, and I am really happy that I have done it."
Runner-up Goggia, wearing a black armband like the whole Italian team did, also acknowledged it was “not easy” for her to race in the Swiss resort.
“The thought of that drama has accompanied me throughout this month, knowing that I have to compete in this very location,” Goggia said.
This week, the Italian team visited the scene of the fire and laid a bouquet of flowers at the steps of the bar.
“As for my race, I have to say that I am satisfied,” Goggia said. "January has never been an easy month for me, and ending it with a podium is the best way to present myself at the Olympics.”
Satisfied was also how Johnson felt after adding her maiden super-G podium to eight top-three results in downhill. The American won the world downhill title last year but is yet to win a World Cup.
“I have been working on it for a really long time. I respect super-G, I think it’s the hardest event. I always wanted to be good at it,” Johnson said.
A late starter with bib 29, Johnson bumped Roberta Melesi off the podium after the heralded Italian initially led the race and hoped for her first career top-three result, having had just one top 10 in more than eight seasons on the World Cup circuit.
Friday’s downhill was called off after Vonn became the third out of the first six starters to crash and visibility worsened in increasing snowfall.
One of the other skiers who crashed, Marte Monsen of Norway, wrote on Instagram she suffered a concussion after hitting the nets just before the finish area.
Weather vastly improved overnight though and Saturday’s super-G took place in sunshine and under blue skies, making for a smoother snow surface on the Mont Lachaux course after numerous bumps in flat lights made the downhill tricky.
Starting 20th after most pre-race favorites, Laura Pirovano led by a massive 0.58 seconds at the final check point but the Italian missed the penultimate gate in the twisty bottom section approaching the finish.
Teammate Federica Brignone made her comeback in a speed race and finished 1.28 off the lead in 18th, after the overall World Cup champion placed sixth in a giant slalom nearly two weeks ago, which was her first event back from injury.
Emma Aicher, the winner of the previous super-G in Italy two weeks ago, fell and slid off the course after posting the fastest first-split time, but the the German skied down to the finish area and seemed to have avoided injury.
French skier Laura Gauche had a nasty crash after crossing the finish and got stuck under an inflatable safety barrier, but she seemed unhurt.
The race was only the fourth super-G of the season, after a race in Austria was canceled three weeks ago and rescheduled for Andorra shortly after the Olympics.
With Vonn not racing, Goggia extended her lead in the season standings to 60 points over Alice Robinson of New Zealand, who placed sixth on Saturday.
Vonn dropped to third and trailed the Italian by 90 points with four races remaining.
A men's downhill on Sunday on an adjoining slope that shares the same finish area is the final World Cup event before the Olympics.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc, center, celebrates on the podium with the team after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Breezy Johnson celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Italy's Sofia Goggia speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
Switzerland's Malorie Blanc celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Many have denied having close ties to the late financier, or at least having anything to do with his alleged sexual abuse of girls and young women that led to his arrest on sex trafficking charges.
None have been charged with a crime connected to the investigation. Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019. Yet some of them maintained friendships with Epstein, or developed them anew, even after he became known as a predator of young girls and registered sex offender.
Here’s a primer on some of the notable names in the Epstein files:
The man formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew has long been dogged by questions about his relationship with Epstein, including allegations from the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre that she was trafficked by Epstein and instructed to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17.
The former prince has repeatedly denied that it happened, but his brother, King Charles III, still stripped him of his royal titles late last year, including the right to be called a prince and the Duke of York.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s name appears at least several hundred times in Friday’s document release, including in Epstein’s private emails.
Among the correspondence is an invitation for Epstein to dine at Buckingham Palace, Epstein’s offer to introduce Mountbatten-Windsor to a 26-year-old Russian woman, and photos that appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman lying on the floor.
The billionaire Tesla founder turns up at least a few times in Friday’s document release, notably in email exchanges in 2012 and 2013 in which he discussed visiting Epstein’s infamous Caribbean island compound.
But it’s not immediately clear if the island visits took place. Spokespersons for Musk’s companies, Tesla and X, didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Friday or Saturday.
Musk has maintained that he repeatedly turned down the disgraced financier’s overtures. “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED,” he posted on X in 2025.
The billionaire founder of Virgin Group Limited exchanged numerous emails with Epstein in the years after he pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a minor and agreed to register as a sex offender in Florida in 2008.
In a 2013 exchange, Branson invited Epstein to his own private Caribbean island.
“Any time you’re in the area would love to see you,” he wrote. “As long as you bring your harem!”
In another message that year, he suggested Epstein rehabilitate his image by convincing Microsoft founder Bill Gates to tell the public how Epstein had “been a brilliant adviser to him” and had “more than learnt your lesson and have done nothing that’s against the law since.”
A Branson spokesperson suggested the “harem” comment referred to adult members of Epstein’s staff. The spokesperson also said Branson eventually severed ties with Epstein after learning more about the “serious allegations” against him.
The New York Giants co-owner is mentioned more than 400 times in the files released Friday. Correspondence between the two shows Epstein offered to connect Tisch to numerous women over the years.
In one 2013 email exchange with the subject line “Ukrainian girl,” Epstein encouraged Tisch to contact a particular woman, whose physical beauty he praised in crude terms.
“Pro or civilian?” Tisch asked in reply.
Tisch, a scion of a powerful New York family that founded the Loews Corporation, has acknowledged knowing Epstein but denied ever going to his infamous Caribbean island.
“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,” said Tisch, who also won an Academy Award in 1994 for producing “Forrest Gump.” “As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”
The president of the committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles exchanged flirty emails with Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, Friday's document release shows.
In a 2003 exchange, Wasserman wrote to Maxwell: “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”
In another, Maxwell asks whether it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit “so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?”
Wasserman released a statement Saturday saying he never had a personal or business relationship with Epstein and that he regretted the correspondence with Maxwell, which he said came “long before her horrific crimes came to light.”
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and abuse of minors.
The former Israeli prime minister and his wife turn up frequently in the documents released Friday, showing they stayed in regular contact with Epstein for years, including well after his 2008 guilty plea for sex crimes in Florida.
Among the correspondence are plans for a 2017 stay at Epstein’s New York residence. Other missives discuss mundane logistics for other visits, meetings and phone calls with Epstein.
Barak has acknowledged regularly visiting Epstein on his trips to New York and flying on his private plane, but maintains he never observed any inappropriate behavior or parties.
Barak served as Israel’s prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and later served as its defense minister.
President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island with his family on at least one occasion, records released Friday show.
That appears to contradict prior statements he’s made claiming he cut ties with the disgraced financier, who he’s called “gross,” decades ago.
But emails show Lutnick and his wife accepted an invitation to Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands in December 2012 and planned to arrive by yacht with their children.
The former chairman of Newmark, a major commercial real estate firm, also had drinks on another occasion in 2011 with Epstein and corresponded with him about the construction of a building across the street from both of their homes.
The Commerce Department, in a statement, said Lutnick had “limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.”
The billionaire Google co-founder made plans to meet with Epstein and Maxwell at his townhouse in New York years before he was publicly accused of sexually abusing underage girls, emails show.
In one exchange in 2003, Maxwell invited him to join her at a screening of the Renee Zellweger film “Down with Love” in New York.
She followed up a few weeks later to invite him to a “happily casual and relaxed” dinner at Epstein’s house. Brin offered to bring along Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt.
Spokespersons for Google didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.
The one-time adviser to Trump exchanged hundreds of friendly texts with Epstein, some sent months before his 2019 arrest and jailhouse suicide.
The two discussed politics, travel and a documentary Bannon was said to be planning that would help salvage Epstein’s reputation.
One 2018 exchange, for example, focused on Trump’s threats at the time to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In a 2019 message, Bannon asked Epstein if he could supply his plane to pick him up in Rome.
Bannon hasn’t responded to emails seeking comment.
A national security adviser to the Slovakian prime minister, Lajcak resigned Saturday after his past communications with Epstein appeared in Friday’s document release.
Opposition parties and a nationalist partner in Fico’s governing coalition had called for him to step down.
Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister and a onetime president of the U.N. General Assembly, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but was photographed meeting with Epstein in the years between his initial release from jail and his subsequent indictment in 2019 on sex trafficking charges.
He said his correspondence with Epstein were part of his diplomatic duties.
Associated Press journalists from around the country contributed to this report.
FILE - Documents that were included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
FILE - New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch arrives for NFL owners meetings, in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
