RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro police officers kitted themselves out as thieves from the series “Money Heist” and as Jason Voorhees from the “Friday the 13th” horror movie franchise to blend in with crowds celebrating Carnival and catch criminals stealing cellphones.
Carnival officially kicked off on Friday in Rio, and for many revelers participating in the megalopolis’ raucous, dazzling street parties, one of the biggest concerns is holding on to their phones — as thefts are all too common.
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A child performs on stilts during the Amigos da Onca Carnival street party, in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Revelers performs during the Amigos da Onca Carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A dog confronts another dog during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Raquel Poti performs on stilts during the Amigos da Onca Carnival street party, in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
To tackle this phenomenon, officers in the Santa Teresa neighborhood Friday donned costumes to fly under thieves’ radar. The undercover agents noticed a woman snatching a cellphone from someone’s hand, followed her and saw her hand the device to an accomplice, Rio’s civil police said in a statement Saturday.
Police arrested the pair and found five cellphones in their possession.
That wasn’t the first time Brazilian police officers wearing costumes have sought to mingle with the crowds during festivities to catch wrongdoers.
Last Sunday, police officers dressed as characters from “Ghostbusters” caught a woman with 12 cellphones stolen in downtown Sao Paulo. A day prior, officers in alien outfits caught a man with three phones hidden under his clothing.
Cellphone thefts have declined overall in Brazil, according to the 2025 annual report by the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety think-tank. They dropped from approximately 980,000 per year in 2022 to some 850,000 in 2024.
But fear of both armed robberies and discreet pocketing of cellphones remains high, and opinion polls consistently show that violence and crime are Brazilians’ main concern.
A child performs on stilts during the Amigos da Onca Carnival street party, in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Revelers performs during the Amigos da Onca Carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A dog confronts another dog during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Raquel Poti performs on stilts during the Amigos da Onca Carnival street party, in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Hughes held the ball in his hands, occasionally tossing his latest souvenir in the air.
Hughes had done “Saturday Night Live” and cherished the chance to chat with Lorne Michaels, then appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” as part of the victory lap for the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams. It only got better Friday when Hughes and women's goaltender Aerin Frankel threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium before the New York Yankees' home opener against the Miami Marlins.
“I knew a lot of things were coming, but this was the one thing I was always like wishing-slash-hoping for,” Hughes said. "Just so much fun. For both of us, it’s unreal."
Hughes scored in overtime in the men's final at the Milan Cortina Games, a few days after Frankel backstopped the women's team to also beating Canada for gold. It's the first time the U.S. has won double gold in the sport at the Olympics, and the sled hockey team made it a clean sweep at the Paralympics.
Frankel said her life hasn't changed much since other than seeing the impact the physical gold medal has on people who had never seen one.
“It’s cool to see how special that is for them,” said Frankel, who plays for the PHWL's Boston Fleet. “We’ve been super busy jumping back into pro seasons and stuff and making time for really cool opportunities like this.”
Frankel is from Westchester County and grew up in a family of Yankees fans. Hughes has become one over the seven years he has been in the area as the face of the franchise for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
Hughes played some baseball growing up, but needed to get his right throwing arm warmed up.
“We played in Dallas last week and my trainer ‘Frosty’ (Chris Scoppetto) brought gloves and I threw like 50 pitches right before morning skate,” Hughes said. “My shoulder was so sore, so I was like, ‘We’ve got to cool it.'”
Hughes' shoulder was fine. He scored twice that night against the Stars and had a five-point game Thursday night on the eve of his big baseball day.
Less than 24 hours after making 22 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over Winnipeg and U.S. Olympic starter Connor Hellebuyck, Oettinger threw a strike on his pitch from the top of the mound before the Texas Rangers' home opener. He got a loud ovation, with chants of “U-S-A!” when he was introduced.
That came after the national anthem, during which Rangers fans, like those at Stars games, yelled “Stars!” at both times that phrase came up in the song.
Oettinger wore his U.S. jersey and gold medal that everybody wants to see. Like Frankel, he said the coolest part to him is letting “other people wear it or take pictures with it and how excited they get. ... It just shows you how big the Olympics are. I think when you’re over there playing in it, you don’t really realize the magnitude, and then you get back and see how much it means to everyone is the best part.”
Oettinger, who played baseball until he was about 12, said he threw some Thursday with his younger brother, Thomas, who soon will turn 12. His brother was with him on the field and when they met former president George W. Bush, the former Rangers owner who was also at the game
“Brought my little brother and I got to take him through the clubhouse, and just a first-class organization,” Oettinger said. “Got to meet President Bush, so it has been a great day.”
A little over six weeks since scoring the tying goal late in the gold-medal game on a deflection of captain Hilary Knight's shot, Cleveland Heights' Laila Edwards got a rousing ovation for her first pitch from the mound over the plate before the Guardians' home opener.
“It’s so exciting, especially growing up and being a fan of Cleveland baseball,” Edwards said. “I played baseball in the backyard with my brother. He’s jealous, but I have to make him proud.”
Edwards, who's 22 and considered Knight's successor as the face of women's hockey in the U.S., has done a lot of winning so far this year. She helped Wisconsin to the second of back-to-back national titles, an experience she called surreal.
“I’m having so much fun and being grateful,” Edwards said. “We got back from the Olympics and three days later we were starting NCAA playoffs, so there was no rest there. That’s what we signed up for. And then to be able to win and meant everything."
AP Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Olympic gold medal hockey player Laila Edwards throws out a ceremonial first pitch before an opening day baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger throws a ceremonial first pitch prior to the Texas Rangers' home-opener baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes looks on during batting practice before his ceremonial first pitch for the home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes practices ahead of his first pitch before a home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
