“The Story Doesn't End”
From Olympic gold at 41 to shipwrecks, sabbaticals, and the alien question we’re still asking. First up ... 👇🏽
“Her comeback is a statement about autonomy and the importance of making sure women—and, in sports like figure skating, girls—are heard.”
How Time describes the return of Alysa Liu to competitive figure skating. Liu first retired from the sport at sixteen, saying she missed “freedom.” But a ski trip in 2024 reawakened the “fight” in her, prompting a return that culminated in Olympic gold Thursday — a first for U.S. women’s figure skating in 24 years.
🗣️ Your Conversation Starters:
⛷️ Skimo: Short for ski mountaineering, the sport made its Olympic debut this week at the Milano Cortina Games. Rooted in the era before ski lifts, the sport involves a climb uphill on skis before racing back down. The addition marks the first new Winter Olympic sport since snowboarding debuted in 1998.
🦦 Man behind the mascot: Meet 19-year-old Giacomo Di Pumpo, the performer behind Tina— one of two mascots at the Winter Games. Tina and her counterpart, Milo, resemble stoats, which are members of the weasel family native to the region.
🐾 "Anybody lost their dog?": So said the announcers during the women's cross-country team sprint qualifier after a dog named Nazgul crashed the course and took his chances at Olympic gold. He technically won silver (though a human took home the medal) ... and even got his own photo finish:
⛸️ Jordan Cowan: The first skating camera operator to take the ice during Olympic figure skating. A former competitive figure skater himself, the 35-year-old became a viral sensation at this year’s Winter Olympics for his white tuxedo, smooth moves and even backwards skating to capture competitors with his videography.
🇺🇸 “Shining”: The Empire State Building displayed red, white, and blue Thursday night after U.S. women’s hockey secured the gold over Canada — a first in eight years.
👽 Are aliens real? During a podcast interview last week, former President Barack Obama said yes — then clarified his answer. When asked his take, President Trump responded, “I don’t know,” and then ordered the Department of War and other agencies to release all files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).” Here’s how other presidents have handled the subject. P.S. According to a 2024 Pentagon study, no evidence of aliens exists (so far – ha!).
🔄 Micro retirement: The European model of “mini-sabbaticals” — extended time away from work — begins to take hold of some Americans. Why? Most say to create “space for a reset, whether mental, physical or spiritual.”
☕️ 18.3%: The increased rate of coffee prices from a year ago. And it's changing the way many people get their morning cup of joe.
🚢 “A kind of a game”: How 80-year-old Paul Ehorn describes shipwreck hunting. After 60+ years of searching, a team led by Ehorn located the wreck of the luxury steamer Lac La Belle, which sank on Lake Michigan in 1872. While initially discovered in 2022, researchers delayed announcing the find until they could document it with a three-dimensional model of the shipwreck site.
⚓️ Another one: Speaking of shipwrecks ... “unusually low” sea levels recently revealed this 17th-century Swedish Navy ship. It's one of five sunken vessels lined up in the same area; archaeologists believe the ships were intentionally sunk by crews around 1640 in order to form a bridge.
🎨 Calling all young artists: As America’s 250th birthday approaches, the National Endowment for the Arts invites K-8 students to participate in a bookmark design challenge. Meanwhile, Freedom 250 and the National Endowment for the Humanities jointly invite students in grades 3-12 to enter an American Heroes Student Art Contest.
🎙️ This Week From Jenna:
WATCH ABOVE OR BY CLICKING HERE. You can also listen on podcasting platforms everywhere (Apple, Spotify).
🙌🏽 What We Found SmartHER This Week:
FRÉ Skincare is on major sale this weekend — 40% off plus an extra 15% with code SMARTHER. Two of my favorites? 👇🏽
GLOW ME+, an ultra-light tinted mineral SPF I wear with just a touch of blush.
RENEW ME, a gentle anti-wrinkle serum with bakuchiol — a natural retinol. I use it every other night for smoother, more elastic skin.
"The story doesn't end until you say it's over."
41-year-old Elana Meyers Taylor after capturing Olympic gold, becoming the most decorated U.S. female bobsledder in history and the oldest woman to win gold in the sport.
Asked what it takes to become an Olympic champion as a mother of two young sons — both with disabilities — Meyers Taylor described it as a “team effort” with what she calls her “group of avengers.”
And that's The Weekend Digest!
❤️,
Jenna and the SHN Team
Daily news, interviews, our latest podcasts and more at www.SmartHERNews.com.
