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.
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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)
“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)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired on commercial ships Wednesday and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of bottling up the oil-rich Persian Gulf as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic.
Iran's response to the surprise Israeli and U.S. bombardment that started 12 days ago has upended trade routes, choked supplies of fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatened air traffic through one of the world's most-traveled regions. Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other.
An Israeli intelligence assessment, meanwhile, found Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was wounded at the start of the war — on the day when his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
An Israeli intelligence official and a reservist with knowledge of the assessment spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. They gave no details on the nature of the injuries.
The 56-year-old, whose wife was also killed in the Israeli strike, has not been seen since becoming supreme leader on Monday. Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, wrote on social media that he had heard Mojtaba was wounded but that friends said “he is healthy and there is no problem.”
In Tehran late Wednesday, witnesses said they heard loud airstrikes, explosions and heavy fire by anti-aircraft batteries. They could also hear the buzzing of drones overhead. A person driving to Tehran described overcast skies as smoke from bomb and missile blasts mingled in the air that smelled of burnt powder and gasoline. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The fallout across the Middle East widened as Israel struck what it said were targets connected to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon, while more than 92,000 others have crossed into neighboring Syria.
Elsewhere, two Iranian drones hit near the Dubai airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates and the world’s busiest for international travel. Four people were wounded but flights continued, the Dubai Media Office said.
The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors.
“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 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."
Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes. It has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations, aiming at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their strikes.
At least 12 incidents have been confirmed involving vessels in and around the strait since the war began, according to two global trackers. The International Maritime Organization says at least seven mariners have been killed.
A projectile hit a Thai cargo ship off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, 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.
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.
Some tankers, believed linked to Iran, continue to get through the strait, making so-called “dark” transits — meaning they aren’t turning on trackers that show where they are. Vessels carrying sanctioned Iranian crude often turn off their trackers.
The commodity-tracking firm Kpler said Iran has restarted crude exports through its Jask oil terminal on the Gulf of Oman. A tanker loaded roughly 2 million barrels at Jask on March 7, it said.
Oil prices remained well below Monday’s peaks but the price of Brent crude, the international standard, was still up some 20% Wednesday from when the war began. Consumers around the world are already feeling the pain at the pump.
The International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the war’s impact on energy markets.
The Paris-based organization said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its member countries’ emergency reserves, more than twice the amount they released four years ago in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That could replace supplies currently off the market for roughly three weeks, said Bruce Bullock, director of Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University.
Simultaneous blasts rocked Beirut's southern suburbs Wednesday night, producing large fires and plumes of smoke.
The Israeli military said it was responding to dozens of Hezbollah rockets fired simultaneously across northern Israel. 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.
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.
Iran’s joint military command said it would start targeting banks and financial institutions in the Middle East. That would put at risk particularly Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, which is home to many international financial institutions, as well as Saudi Arabia and the island kingdom of Bahrain.
The threat came after a Tehran location of Bank Sepah, a state-owned financial institution sanctioned by the U.S. over funding Iranian armed forces, came under attack Wednesday, killing staffers there, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
In a separate development, Iran’s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, told Iranian state TV that the country's soccer team cannot take part in the upcoming World Cup in North America in June because of the “wicked acts” of the United States. He said Iranian players would not be safe in the U.S.
This story has been corrected to fix a misspelling of the first name of Bahrain's U.N. ambassador.
Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy and Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sally Abou AIJoud in Beirut, Farnoush Amiri and Edith M. Lederer in New York, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Cara Anna in Lowville, New York, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this story.
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)
