The "J" Pack: The family and friends of US moguls star Jaelin Kauf are back at the Winter Games

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Perched in the snow-covered Italian Alps, Patti Sherman-Kauf fondly remembers how, four years before, in another valley and a world away in Wyoming, she glowed with pride watching a line of headlights approach in the middle of the night.

Those cars were full of family and friends coming to gather around a television and watch her daughter, freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf, compete in moguls at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Bedlam broke out in the bar owned by her father when Jaelin won the silver medal.

“It was a line, at 1:30 in the morning, snaking through the valley up to the bar for the watch party,” Sherman-Kauf recalled. "There were like 150 people there watching in this little bar. Being able to watch it on TV with all our friends and family, that was amazing.”

But, she told The Associated Press, nothing compares to breathing in the frosty alpine air, standing at the foot of a ski course and cheering on Jaelin as she shows her speed, agility and aerial stunts at the 2026 Winter Olympics, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic had stopped her loved ones from accompanying her to China.

In Livigno, Sherman-Kauf is joined by Jaelin’s father and brother, and about 30 more people who had also been at that bar back in Alta, Wyoming, right on the Idaho border. Besides that hard-core group waving “J" for Jaelin signs, there were dozens more family members of Team USA skiers, most decked out in red-while-and-blue caps, coats, scarves and sweaters. And everybody cheered for everyone, regardless of the country they represented.

"Freestyle is a big family,” Sherman-Kauf said, taking a moment to give her daughter a hug before she joined her teammates atop the slope.

Jaelin’s long-standing motto is “deliver the love.”

That reminder to just embrace what she does, despite the outcome, is there written on her helmet.

On Tuesday, Jaelin was on the receiving end of that love delivery.

“I could see all the Js waving from up in the start gate and could hear them cheering for me down here. I love having them around. They give me so much energy,” Jaelin said after completing her qualifying run.

Turns out that the 29-year-old, who made her Olympic debut in 2018 with her family there to support her, is going to need some more of those positive vibrations to keep her quest for another medal alive.

A costly wobble on her qualifying run wrecked her score, which is based on a skier’s execution of those hip-swiveling “turns” used to navigate the bumpy slope, along with the difficulty of two acrobatic jumps, and the time. She finished 27th of 29 riders, missing out on the top 10 who advanced to the final.

She has another shot, though. On Wednesday, she can advance to the final if she finishes among the top 10 skiers of the 20 who failed to advance the day before. The final is later the same day.

“The plan for tomorrow is to just put down some my runs,” Jaelin said. “Obviously, you know, like going for gold out here.”

Jaelin, who has a world championship title in dual moguls and over 50 World Cup podiums, has been here before.

She even has moguls in the blood.

Both Sherman-Kauf and Jaelin’s father, Scott Kauf, are multiple-time champions in the freestyle discipline from the 1980s and ’90s.

Now, at an active 62, Sherman-Kauf said “you couldn’t pay me to get on this course,” while craning her neck to look up at the huge slope where her daughter and the other skiers pound their way down the back-breaking, knee-bending bumps only interrupted by the two ramps where they launch into twisting leaps.

But will she still give her daughter some advice for the do-or-die second round of qualifying on Wednesday

Never.

“A hug and have fun is all,” Sherman-Kauf said. “It’s her thing and not ours, because she gets a lot of, ‘Oh, your parents were skiers,’ and that’s all great, the history and all that, but this is her thing, right?

"We’re not Olympic medalists."

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

A stuffed monkey is seen on the backpack of United States' Jaelin Kauf before the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Friends and family hold signs in support of United States' Jaelin Kauf before the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

United States' Jaelin Kauf competes during the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

United States' Jaelin Kauf looks on during the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Friends and family hold a sign for United States' Jaelin Kauf before the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Anti-drone lasers used near the southern border by the U.S. military and Homeland Security to combat cartel drones are safe and shouldn’t necessitate airport closures, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday after a review prompted by airspace closures in Texas earlier this year.

The FAA and Defense Department have signed an agreement outlining the safety precautions that they say will protect travelers anytime these lasers are used, but their statement didn't spell out what those safeguards will be.

The FAA didn’t immediately respond to questions seeking more details about the agreement.

In early February, the FAA closed the airspace around the El Paso airport for several hours after another agency used a counter-drone laser without notifying the aviation safety regulator. That left many travelers scrambling to find new flights. A second, more limited airspace closure later that month followed the military shooting down a drone owned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A demonstration of the lasers conducted last month at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico convinced the FAA that they can be used safely.

"We will continue working with our interagency partners to ensure the National Airspace System remains safe while addressing emerging drone threats,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.

Drones are commonly used along the border by Mexican cartels looking to deliver drugs or surveil officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.

The use of armed drones regularly carry out devastating attacks in the Ukraine and Iran wars highlights the threat.

Lawmakers in Congress said they are glad to see the agencies working together better now. But Democratic senators who raised questions after the anti-drone laser uses in February say they need detailed answers before they can be sure the lasers are safe. The FAA has not yet held a briefing for Congress.

“It is absolutely critical that meaningful interagency collaboration continues — the FAA must be at the table whenever any counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) is deployed that could impact the safety of our national airspace,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

In the second incident, the military used the laser to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 26. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said.

That led the FAA to close the airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of El Paso.

The Trump administration has said it was working to halt an incursion by Mexican cartel drones. U.S. Army Brigadier General Matt Ross said that this agreement will allow the use of the most advanced tools to defend the homeland.

“By working hand-in-hand with the FAA and our interagency partners, the Department of War is proving that these cutting-edge capabilities are safe, effective, and ready to protect all air travelers from illicit drone use in the national airspace,” Ross said.

The U.S. government has handed out more than $250 million to help states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned this summer for the country's 250th birthday.

Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.

FILE - People stand in line at check-in counters at El Paso International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee,File)