Surprise! US women's curling team beats Canada for first time at an Olympic Games

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The U.S. women's curling team was surprised to learn that their defeat of Canada on Friday marked an Olympic first.

“If that's true," caveated Minneapolis native Taylor Anderson-Heide said after the 9-8 nailbiter, "I think we just played a really good game. They're No. 1 in the world.”

Tara Peterson of Shoreview, Minnesota, chimed in: “It just always feels really good to beat (Canada skip) Rachel Homan. So any team to beat them, that’s pretty impressive."

Until Friday, the American women had never beaten Canada -- a perennial favorite that has medaled in every Winter Games since curling was added to the Olympics in 1998. The U.S. men beat the Canadians for the first time in the 2018 round-robin and again in the semifinals en route to their gold medal victory in Pyeongchang.

Canada’s Team Homan has for years been considered the best in the world.

In Friday’s match, the U.S. managed to capitalize on a few weak shots by Canada. After the win, the Americans walked together down the ice and back to their coaches, raising fists in triumph.

Peterson, like Anderson-Heide, couldn’t help but add a qualifier to her response to questions from The Associated Press: “Apparently, we’ve never beat them in the Olympics before. That makes it just extra special.”

This year's American women's curling team — like their Gen-Z men's counterparts — meld approachability with ambition. Alongside Anderson-Heide and Peterson, the team includes skip Tabitha Peterson, who's Tara's older sister, as well as cool-as-a-cucumber Cory Thiesse, who has already won a silver medal in the mixed doubles event. Aileen Geving, from Minnesota, is an alternate.

Three of them have jobs other than curling, and three are mothers to young children. Tara is a dentist, Tabitha a pharmacist and Thiesse a lab technician.

Tara gave birth to her son, Eddie, in September 2024 and a few months later, Tabitha had a daughter, Noelle. Geving had daughter Sienna following the 2018 Games.

They have several matches left in the round-robin before the semifinals next Friday. The are 2-1 after Friday's match, with a win against Korea and loss to Sweden alongside the milestone.

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This story has been corrected to show the U.S. men beat Canada in 2018 semifinal, not final, in 4th paragraph.

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

United States' Tabitha Peterson, Taylor Anderson-Heide, and Cory Thiesse react after the women's curling round robin session against Canada, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

United States' Cory Thiesse, Taylor Anderson-Heide, Tabitha Peterson, and Tara Peterson in action during the women's curling round robin session against Canada, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

United States' Tabitha Peterson, and Tara Peterson react after the women's curling round robin session against Canada, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

United States' Cory Thiesse, Taylor Anderson-Heide, Tabitha Peterson, and Tara Peterson react after the women's curling round robin session against Canada, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

United States' Tara Peterson reacts during the women's curling round robin session against Canada, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

NEW YORK (AP) — A second suspect in the stray-bullet killing of a 7-month-old baby on a Brooklyn street was arrested Friday, police said, two days after a shooting the police commissioner called “a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience.”

Matthew Rodriguez, 18, was apprehended in Pennsylvania by New York Police Department detectives working with U.S. Marshals, the NYPD said.

The suspected shooter, 21-year-old Amuri Greene, was arrested shortly after the drive-by gunfire that killed Kaori Patterson-Moore. Greene pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at an arraignment Friday night.

Kaori was in her stroller when a two men sped down a street on a moped Wednesday afternoon. Greene, riding on the back of the vehicle, fired into a group of people on a street corner, according to a court complaint.

Kaori's mother, Lianna Charles-Moore, told the New York Post that after hearing what she initially believed were fireworks, she was comforting her startled 2-year-old son — who had been grazed by a bullet — when she looked to her left and saw her baby daughter bleeding. The infant had been shot in the head.

“My daughter was innocent. She didn’t deserve that," Charles-Moore told the newspaper. She said her daughter was just about starting to crawl and had recently begun saying “Mama.”

Greene told police he was aiming for another person in the crowd, according to the court complaint.

Police said the moped sped and crashed into a car two blocks away, hurling both men off the vehicle. Greene was injured and soon was hospitalized in police custody, but the moped driver fled.

Authorities haven't yet released court papers that detail Rodriguez's alleged role. But they haven't indicated they were looking for anyone other than the gunman — alleged to have been Greene — and the moped driver.

Greene was being held without bail after his arraignment. A voice message seeking comment was left with his attorney.

Police didn't immediately have information on how the men are connected or where Rodriguez lives; no working telephone number for him could immediately be found. Police charges against him were pending.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch expressed heartbreak and outrage over Kaori's death.

“This is a terrible day in our city, a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience,” Tisch said at a news briefing Wednesday.

This image taken from video provided by the New York Police Department shows New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, flanked by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, left, and Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, speaking during a news conference, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in New York. (NYPD via AP)