PHOENIX (AP) — The seven Western states that depend on the Colorado River missed a deadline for the second time Saturday to agree on a plan addressing record drought and water shortages.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo released a joint statement calling on Upper Basin states to offer more concessions. Those states include Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
“The Colorado River is essential to our communities and economies, and our states have conserved large volumes of water in recent years to stabilize the basin’s water supplies for years to come,” the governors said. “Our stance remains firm and fair: all seven basin states must share in the responsibility of conservation.”
Arizona, California and Nevada have offered to decrease Colorado River allocation by 27%, 10% and 17%, respectively, according to those states.
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper. who helped negotiate a river contingency plan in 2019 as governor, called the situation in the Colorado Basin “dire," pointing to the state's low snowpack.
"If we don’t address this problem together –- head-on and fast –- our communities, farms, and economies will suffer. The best path forward is the one we take together. Litigation won’t solve the problem of this long-term aridification," Hickenlooper said in a statement.
John Entsminger, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, also expressed frustration at the lack of progress.
“The actions we have taken over the past two-plus decades are less about raising Lake Mead’s elevation than they are about protecting ourselves if things go from bad to worse,” Entsminger said in a statement.
The states previously let pass a November deadline set by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to devise a strategy to face water shortages after this year, when current guidelines will expire.
Over 40 million people across these states along with Mexico and Native American tribes rely on Colorado River water. The river is crucial to farming as well as water and electricity for millions of homes and businesses. Much of the water starts out as winter mountain snowfall in the Upper Basin, which amasses far more that way than it consumes. Lower Basin states, including agriculture-heavy regions, are bigger consumers.
Major cities including Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles, are also big water consumers. Chronic overuse, drought and rising temperatures linked to climate change have lessened water flows.
How the water is allocated — especially in dry spells — and conserved has been the center of agreements among the states for decades. The original 1922 Colorado River Compact was calculated based on water amounts that doesn’t exist today, especially with the long-term drought.
The current round of negotiations among states have been going on over two years.
If no consensus can be reached, the federal government could step in and devise a plan that leaves parties dissatisfied and could even result in litigation.
Scientists recently found snow cover and snow depth in the West are at their lowest in decades. Some areas have seen their warmest December through early February. Normally, snow cover this time of year spans 460,000 square miles — about the size of California, Utah, Idaho and Montana. But, this year it is only California-sized, about 155,000 square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
FILE - The Colorado River in the upper River Basin is seen, May 29, 2021, in Lees Ferry, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Jordan Stolz is 2 for 2. There's a chance 4 for 4 might not be far behind.
The American speedskating star added his second gold medal in two attempts at the Milan Cortina Olympics by sprinting to victory in the men's 500 meters on Saturday.
Stolz joined Eric Heiden as the only skaters to win both the 500 and 1,000 meters at the same Olympics. Heiden did it at Lake Placid in 1980, a full 24 years before the 21-year-old Stolz was born.
While Stolz has been wary about comparing himself to Heiden, who won a record five races nearly five decades ago, he hardly seems intimidated by the challenge.
Racing in the penultimate pairing, the Wisconsin native's time of 33.77 seconds gave him his second Olympic record in four days. He did the same while capturing the 1,000 meters on Wednesday.
Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands took silver, just as he did in the 1,000. Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil got the bronze in 34.26.
Next up for Stolz is the 1,500 meters on Thursday, and the mass start on Feb. 21.
The party in Brazil this week isn't limited to the annual Carnivale in Rio de Janeiro.
Alpine skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen delivered the first gold medal by a South American athlete at the Winter Olympics by surging to victory in the giant slalom.
The 25-year-old, whose father is Norwegian and mother is from Brazil, posted a two-run time of 2 minutes, 25 seconds, beating defending champion Marco Odermatt of Switzerland by 0.58 seconds. Odermatt’s teammate, Loic Meillard, earned bronze on the snowy and slippery Stelvia course.
“I was skiing with my heart, and when you ski the way you are, anything is possible,” Pinheiro Braathen said. "The only thing that matters to me is that I remain who I am. I am a Brazilian skier who became an Olympic champion.”
Austria's Janine Flock 's long road to Olympic gold is over. The 36-year-old skeleton slider — winless in 16 all-time appearances at the Olympics or world championships — won gold at the Cortina Sliding Centre, the biggest victory of her long career.
Flock jumped to the front during her first run and stayed there throughout the competition. She navigated four runs in 3 minutes, 49.02 seconds. Susanne Kreher and Jacqueline Pfeifer, both of Germany, took silver and bronze.
“I can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real right now,” Flock said. “It’s a dream to do this.”
Flock has enjoyed plenty of success through the years. She's a three-time World Cup overall champ and has multiple medals from the world championships. Just never gold. Not until Saturday.
Pfeifer's bronze made her the second woman to win multiple Olympic skeleton medals. She was the silver medalist in Pyeongchang eight years ago.
Jens van ’t Wout of the Netherlands won the gold medal in 1,500-meter short track speedskating, adding to his Olympic haul after winning gold in the 1,000 earlier this week.
South Korea’s Daeheon Hwang took the silver medal and Roberts Kruzbergs of Latvia was third for bronze as Canadian short track star William Dandjinou had to settle for fifth.
Van ’t Wout raised his arms after crossing the line in 2 minutes, 12.219 seconds and immediately skated over to a sea of orange-clad teammates to share hugs at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Hwang, the gold medalist in the 2022 Beijing Games, finished in 2:12.304.
Jakara Anthony produced another gold in freestyle skiing for Australia, winning in the Winter Olympics debut of dual moguls.
Anthony avoided mistakes during all five of her single-elimination races to win the second gold of her career — he was the Olympic champion in individual moguls four years ago — and second gold for Australia in Livigno. Countryman Cooper Woods upset Mikael Kingsbury in the men's individual moguls early in the Games.
American Jaelin Kauf took silver, the third medal of that color of her Olympic career. Teammate Elizabeth Lamely, who won gold in individual moguls earlier this week, earned bronze.
Domen Prevc of Slovenia soared through the raindrops to take gold in the men's large hill ski jumping competition.
Prevc was in second place with one jump remaining. He saved his best for last, flying a staggering 464 feet (141.5 meters) — the best of the night — to move ahead of Japan’s Ren Nikaido and Kacper Tomasiak of Poland.
The 26-year-old didn't feel much pressure heading up the hill one last time. He leaned into the joy of the sport he discovered while following in the footsteps of his older siblings.
“Even for the second round, I was like, ‘do your thing, do your best, enjoy the jump and feel the air,’” he said. “When I did a really good take-off, I was super happy and I could just enjoy the air."
Maren Kirkeeide's first Olympic biathlon race ended with a dismal 49th-place finish early in the Games.
Her second went far, far better.
The Norwegian earned gold in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint, clearing all 10 of her shots before crossing the finish line in 20 minutes and 40.8 seconds, just ahead of Oceane Michelon of France 3.8 seconds back. Lou Jeanmonnot missed one but held on for the bronze, 23.7 seconds back.
“I wanted to try my best, and I got some positive feedback from the coaches, and then I got some extra motivation, and it helped me all the way to the finish line,” Kirkeeide said.
Jeanmonnot now has a full set of medals in Italy. She took silver in the 15-kilometer individual race and was part of France's gold medal-winning mixed relay.
A snapped ski binding by Sweden created an opening in the women's cross-country relay. Norway was more than happy to zip through it.
The Norwegians pulled off a stunner to claim gold in a discipline dominated by the Swedes. Sweden entered the race having won seven out of nine possible medals so far up at the course in Tesero.
The Swedes were leading during the second leg when Ebba Andersson broke her binding and fell. Forced to ski with just one ski at one point, she lost valuable time.
Norway finished the 4 x 7.5-kilometer race in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 44.8 seconds, 50 seconds ahead of Sweden. Finland earned the bronze, more than a minute back.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen kisses his gold medal for an alpine ski, men's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Jordan Stolz of the U.S. competes in the men's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Jordan Stolz of the U.S. celebrates after competing in the men's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
