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How Olympians are handling adversity on the world's biggest stage  February 20, 2026

 

Hello from Cortina, Italy. It is not just show time, it's snow time. Hope you're having a fantastic Friday.

 

Happy Fri-yay. And if you're following me on the socials, you probably see that I'm coming up with an Italian phrase of the day every day. And then we have that phrase in the United States, it's raining cats and dogs.

 

I asked a local, what's the snow version of that? And they said, neve ca bistecca. It's snowing steak. And yes, these flakes are as big as a steak.

 

Incredible stuff. I'm Coy Wire, this is CNN 10. Let's get you your news for February 20th.

 

Now, we brought you plenty of highlights from here at these Winter Olympic Games over the last two weeks. But today, we want to focus on a part of the games that can be easy to overlook, mental health, and how some of these athletes at these games manage theirs while going for gold. Speed skating sensation Jordan Stoles has had a breakout year at these games with two gold medals.

 

overlook [ˌovɚˈlʊk] v. 忽略

breakout [ˈbrеkˌaʊt] n. 突破

 

And while he's acknowledged the immense pressure coming into these games, Stoles has appeared to use it to his advantage as he skated into the history books.

 

And we've told you about the amazing comeback by skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who endured years of heartbreak while missing the podium at consecutive Winter Games.

 

But Schifrin has not shied away from just how difficult this comeback has been, especially following the sudden passing of her dad in 2020.

 

shy away 躲避

 

The 2026 gold medalist opened up to me about how she's fought to overcome adversity and reach the top of her sport once again.

 

To be honest, I think it wasn't, it actually wasn't a moment that I had to really quiet much. It was all the work we'd done previously that I went into the race really prepared for anything.

 

And I was so sure about the mentality that I wanted to have because my team has been driving it into my head. And I've been writing sticky notes on my mirrors and all of this like self-talk stuff. It's been more than I've ever done in my career.

 

But in these couple of weeks, I really, I really bought into the self-talk idea.

 

buy into 相信(某事)

 

And while we've seen history being made, there's been no shortage of heartbreak. Figure skater Amber Glenn, who already has one gold medal at these games, was visibly emotional after struggling in the women's short program earlier this week.

 

short program 短曲项目

 

Glenn, who has been open about her mental health struggles, shared an optimistic message on social media following the performance. It reads, quote, The world has ended for me many times and yet tomorrow still comes. Keep going, unquote.

 

And on the men's side, gold medal favorite Ilya Malinin shocked the world by finishing short of the podium following a series of mistakes.

 

short of 达不到

 

But the resilient skater isn't letting it define him. He spoke with me about moving on and the importance of respecting these athletes' mental health.

 

But of course, there's a side that not everyone gets to see. And it's really hard to deal with all of that. And at some point, you're going to have to release it because sometimes it's just too much to handle all at once.

 

So it's something that all of us athletes, I think, struggle with and have to put up with, especially now with social media and the attention we get, just the environments that we are in.

 

put up with 忍受；容忍

 

It's not really a pleasant experience, but it's really what makes us human and what makes us truthful to ourselves. And that's something that I really want to push out as my message to all the athletes and all the people that we're still human beings.

 

We are pretty similar to you guys than you think.

 

Awesome stuff. Remember, like you've heard me share with you before, our tough times can make us tougher.

 

We can learn strength through our struggles. The strongest steel is burned in the hottest cold. Something tells me we'll be seeing Ilya Malinin coming back more awesome than ever.

 

Pop quiz, hot shot.

 

At which university did Mark Zuckerberg create Facebook?

 

Stanford University, Yale, Harvard, or MIT?

 

If you said Harvard, you are Ivy League. Originally called the Facebook, Zuckerberg created the site in 2004, but it was designed only for college students.

 

You had to have a .ebu address to register for an account.

 

Mark Zuckerberg has been testifying in that landmark social media trial we've been telling you about, and the outcome could lay the groundwork for hundreds of other cases.

 

testify [ˈtɛstǝˌfaɪ] v. 作证

groundwork [ˈɡraʊndˌwɝk] n. 基础；底子，根基

 

The Meta CEO was grilled for more than five hours about tech addiction, how social media affects children, and whether platforms are deliberately trying to get kids hooked.

 

grill [ɡrɪl] v.【口】拷問，盤問（犯人等）

hooked [hʊkt] adj. 着迷的，入迷的

 

The tech billionaire was a witness, not a defendant, and said he believes he's handled the safety of young users in a quote, reasonable way.

 

defendant [dɪˈfɛndǝnt] n.【律】被告

 

Meta owns Instagram, which is one of the defendants in the lawsuit, along with YouTube. Our Claire Duffy has the details. Hi, Claire.

 

Yeah, a huge moment in this trial today with Mark Zuckerberg trying to make the case that he and the company have not put profits over the safety of young users.

 

And we saw some testy moments as he was questioned about what Meta has known about the risks to young users and whether it's done enough to mitigate those risks.

 

mitigate [ˈmɪtǝˌɡеt] v.  使缓和；减轻

 

He was asked, for example, about users under the age of 13 accessing Instagram in violation of its policies. He was also asked about beauty filters on Instagram, which experts that Meta consulted with said could be harmful for young people.

 

beauty filter 美颜滤镜; 修图滤镜

 

And Zuckerberg talked about the need to balance safety with considerations like privacy and freedom of expression.

 

He also tried to make the argument that his goal is to create a long-term platform that has long-term appeal for users, not something that gets people hooked in the short term and makes them feel bad about themselves.

 

Now, Meta has denied the claims in this lawsuit. It argues that this young woman, Kaylee, who filed the suit experienced mental health challenges because of a difficult childhood, not because of Instagram and social media.

 

And interestingly, Kaylee was in the courtroom today for this testimony. At the end of her lawyer's questioning, he rolled out this big banner. It took seven people to hold it.

 

And it was full of hundreds of little pictures that Kaylee had posted on Instagram, really just trying to hammer home what they are calling her compulsive use of this platform.

 

hammer home 解释清楚，阐明;着重把…讲清楚

 

Now, the other thing to note is that there were parents in the audience, parents who say their children were harmed or died as a result of social media. And some of them were also in the audience back in 2024 when Mark Zuckerberg testified on Capitol Hill.

 

And that moment when he turned around and apologized to families for the harms that their children have experienced on social media.

 

turn around 转过身来, 转身

 

Those parents now, two years later, certainly hoping that this trial will lead to more changes for these platforms. And much of that is going to depend on what the jury makes of Mark Zuckerberg's testimony today.

 

Back to you.

 

Our next story dives to Antarctica, where a jawsome discovery is changing what scientists originally believed to inhabit the continent's icy waters. A University of Western Australia camera captured a 10 to 13 foot sleeper shark about 1,600 feet down in near freezing water.

 

This was near the Antarctic Peninsula, and it is the first shark ever recorded in the Southern Ocean. Scientists say the species is likely sparse and hard to detect there.

 

sparse [spɑrs] adj. 稀少的

 

And this sleepy giant was cruising at that depth because it's actually the warmest layer in the region's ocean, a chilling first from the bottom of the world.

 

chilling [ˈtʃɪlɪŋ] adj. 令人寒心的；使人恐惧的

 

Every Friday in February,we are celebrating Black History Month by honoring some of the lesser known trailblazers of the civil rights movement. And today we are introducing you to legal scholar who paved the way for African Americans, women and the justice system as a whole. Jane Bolin, born in 1908.

 

She was super focused and dedicated as a kid graduating high school at just 15 years old. Having to persevere the challenges of growing up as a black girl in that era, she would rise up and go on to become the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School. And she didn't stop there.

 

persevere [ˌpɝsǝˈvɪr] v. 坚持不懈；不屈不挠

 

She later became the first black woman to join the New York City Bar Association and the first in U.S. history to become a judge. She served on the bench for 40 years, where she ended segregated childcare facilities and race-based assignments of probation officers.

 

Bar [bɑr] n.（常大写）律师业；司法界

bench [bɛntʃ] n. 法官席；法官；法庭 [the S]

probation officer 监视缓刑犯的官员，监护官

probation [proˈbеʃǝn] n.【律】缓刑

 

You know what she would say later? She said she wasn't concerned about being the first, second or even the last because her primary concern was her work.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, a Japanese zoo getting quite creative and cuddly to help one of their newest additions. After a seven-month-old baby monkey was sadly rejected by its biological mom, he's finding new comfort in a plushy toy. Here's the story that's going bananas on the internet.

 

plushy [ˈplʌʃɪ] adj. 似長毛絨的；【口】豪華俗氣的

go bananas 极度兴奋激动

 

Meet Punch. This six-month-old Japanese monkey was abandoned by his mother at birth, but zookeeper stepped in caring for him day and night by hand. And his surrogate mom, a plushy orangutan that is now his safe place and a stand-in for his mother's fur.

 

surrogate [ˈsɝǝɡɪt] n. 代理者；代理人

orangutan [oˈræŋuˌtæn] n. 红毛猩猩

 

Punch's story went viral with many both on and offline cheering him on. Now he is slowly joining the troop, but still clings to his stuffed friend.

 

All right, Sunshine, I've got two shout-outs for you this Friday.

 

First one goes to Mrs. Crane at Nikiski Middle High School in Nikiski, Alaska. Your students wrote to us and said you do so much to help them and they love you for it.

 

And this shout-out goes to Dr. Terry at Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

Thank you for making us a part of your day. Play that Friday music, Nadir. I hope you all have an amazing weekend.

 

I've loved sharing this beautiful city with you. Go out, shine bright this weekend. You never know when or how, but you may be the spark of joy someone needs.

 

You are more powerful than you know. I'm Coy Wire. This is CNN 10.

 

It's been a blessing to spend this week with you.