Italians collect medals on a feel-good first day for the hosts at the Milan Cortina Olympics

MILAN (AP) — The 2026 Winter Games are off to a promising start for host nation Italy with gold, silver and bronze on the first day of medal events.

But it was Switzerland’s Franjo Von Allmen who captured the first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday.

There were no Americans on the podium, though Lindsey Vonn impressed in her second training run ahead of the women’s downhill on Sunday.

Italian speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida celebrated her 35th birthday by winning the host nation's first gold medal of these Olympics — in the 3,000 meters. It's also Italy’s first gold in women’s speedskating at any Winter Games.

Competing in her fourth Olympics, Lollobrigida outskated Ragne Wiklund of Norway for her first Olympic gold after winning silver and bronze in Beijing four years ago.

Her great aunt was the late Gina Lollobrigida, a star actress of the 1950s and ’60s.

Italy had a strong day on the slopes, as well, with Alpine skiers Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris taking silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s downhill — the first medal event of the Games.

However, neither could beat Von Allmen’s time of 1 minute, 51.61 seconds in Bormio.

The 24-year-old Swiss skier was the leader after his downhill run, but the wait for his rivals to finish was nerve-racking.

“I tried to enjoy the moment, but I didn’t quite realize what was going on today,” von Allmen said after his first Olympic race.

Paris, 36, was delighted with his bronze after coming away empty-handed in his four previous Olympics.

“It’s my fifth Olympics, and getting the first medal in front of the home crowd, that’s really special,” Paris said.

In Cortina, Lindsey Vonn completed another downhill training run and was set for Sunday's medal race despite tearing her left ACL a little more than a week ago.

The 41-year-old American crossed the line in third position and told The Associated Press “all good.”

She has been wearing a large brace on her injured knee.

Yuma Kagiyama landed near-perfect quads and scored 108.67 points in his short program to help Japan put pressure on the defending champion U.S. in the figure skating team event.

Malinin, the two-time reigning world champion, was second with 98.00.

But a brilliant free skate by Madison Chock and Evan Bates pushed the U.S. score to 44 points — five more than Japan ahead of the men’s, women’s and pairs free skates to decide the medals Sunday.

Jessie Diggins, the most decorated American cross-country skier ever, finished eighth in the 20-kilometer women’s skiathlon in Tesero. She finished more than 2 minutes behind winner Frida Karlsson of Sweden.

“I had a crash on the first lap, where my tip just disappeared in the slush, and unfortunately it was a tough spot where you lose all your momentum," the 34-year-old Minnesota native said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance sat with influencer and boxer Jake Paul as they watched the U.S. women’s hockey team beat Finland 5-0 on Saturday. Paul’s fiancee, Jutta Leerdam, is a speedskater for the Netherlands.

Finland played two days after the team’s game against Canada had to be postponed because of a stomach virus affecting players. Switzerland played Canada a day after announcing that one of its players tested positive for the norovirus. Canada won 4-0.

Norway — the nation with the most medals in Winter Olympics history — got its first gold of the Games in the women's ski jumping. It was unexpected.

Anna Odine Stroem of Norway won the normal hill competition ahead of Slovenian favorite Nika Prevc, who has dominated the sport this season. Nozomi Maruyama of Japan won bronze.

Kira Kimura won Japan's first gold medal at these Games — in men’s snowboarding big air in Livigno. His teammate, Ryoma Kimata, picked up the silver medal.

Defending champion Su Yiming of China took bronze, keeping 17-year-old American Oliver Martin off the podium.

Big air consists of one single jump off a huge ramp, where the rider varies spins, flips and holds of the board.

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

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States compete during the figure skating ice dance team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy celebrates with her gold medal on the podium of the women's 3,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Jake Paul, left, and Vice President JD Vance attend a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Jessie Diggins of the United States catches her breath after crossing the finish line in the cross country skiing women's 10km + 10km skiathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

United States' Lindsey Vonn in action during alpine ski women's downhill training, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski men's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Gold medallist Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy celebrates with the Italian flag after the women's 3,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran targeted the world’s busiest international airport Wednesday and attacked commercial ships as U.S. and Israeli strikes rocked Tehran, while the United Nations' most powerful body demanded a halt to the Islamic Republic’s strikes on its Gulf neighbors that threaten global oil supplies.

The latest attacks marked an escalation in Iran's campaign aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end the war that started 12 days ago. But there were no signs that the conflict was letting up.

The first week of war with Iran cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon, which provided the estimate to Congress in a briefing earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The military reported spending $5 billion on munitions alone in the war's first weekend.

Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other as the conflict upends trade routes, chokes supplies of fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatens air traffic through one of the world’s most-traveled regions.

Iran has targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations and effectively stopped cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes.

In response, the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil, the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the war's effects on energy markets. The U.S. planned to release 172 million barrels of oil next week from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat steep prices.

The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors.

Among the most recent attacks, four people were wounded after two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, though flights continued, the Dubai Media Office said. Firefighters extinguished a blaze early Thursday at a luxury apartment tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after an Iranian drone strike.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said Iranian-linked attacks targeted fuel tanks at a facility in Muharraq Governorate, northeast of the country’s capital, Manama, while crews at Oman’s Port of Salalah battled a blaze at fuel storage tanks there, according to the Oman News Agency.

“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign countries that are threatening the stability of the peoples, especially in a region of strategic importance to global economy, energy, security and security of global trade,” said Bahrain’s U.N. ambassador, Jamal Alrowaiei.

The 13-0 vote in the U.N.’s most powerful body reflects Iran’s isolated position as it has aggressively responded to Israeli and U.S. strikes. China and Russia — two Iranian allies — abstained from the vote.

Their U.N. ambassadors called the proposal “extremely unbalanced” in not mentioning the strikes against Tehran that began the war.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said it might leave the impression that Iran, “on its own volition and out of malice, conducted an unprovoked attack on Arab states.” Iranian U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the resolution “deliberately ignores the root causes of the current crisis.”

Meanwhile, more attacks in Gulf countries were reported.

Drones were launched toward the cities of Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, while in the southern part of the country, an oil vessel flying the Australian flag was struck near Khor Al-Zubair Port, according to two Iraqi navy officials who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The official said 25 members of the crew were rescued. It was not immediately clear whether any others were missing.

On Thursday, sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.

The fallout across the Middle East widened as Israel also struck what it said were targets connected to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area on the eastern side of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Seven people were killed and 21 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for information.

Blasts shook Beirut’s southern suburbs Wednesday, producing fires and plumes of smoke. Israel's military said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah firing dozens of rockets fired simultaneously across northern Israel. It marked some of the heaviest fighting between the two since the war began.

One rocket hit a house near the Israeli town of Karmiel, lightly injuring two people, according to Israeli rescue services.

At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.

The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.

Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.

The United States has pledged to keep the strait open and has led intense airstrikes targeting Iran's navy and the port city of Bandar Abbas. The U.S. military said Tuesday it destroyed 16 Iranian minelayers near the strait.

At least 12 incidents involving vessels around the strait have been confirmed since fighting began, according to two global trackers, and at least seven mariners have been killed.

A projectile hit a Thai cargo ship off the coast of Oman in the strait, setting it ablaze. Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the Mayuree Naree after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy, according to Thailand’s Marine Department.

This story has been corrected to fix a misspelling of the first name of Bahrain's U.N. ambassador.

Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Mascaro reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, also contributed to this report, along with AP journalists around the world.

A man, left, carries the body of his son, Kassem Younis, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession in the southern village of Chehabiyeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Flames rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Children and adults play on swings on the beach as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A man holds a picture of late Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh beside his coffin as mourners attend the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A mourner holds a poster depicting Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, as supreme leader, during the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from a building following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburb, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Mourners attend the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and some civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji, File)

Rescue workers gather at the site where Israeli airstrikes hit apartments in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People take shelter in an underground metro station as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strike, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man passes in front of a destroyed building that housed a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a non-bank financial institution run by Hezbollah, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People walk past closed shops at the nearly empty traditional main bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Motorbikes drive past a billboard depicting Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, handing the country’s flag to his son and successor Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, as the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stands at left, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)