WASHINGTON – The United States Olympic Committee has announced the 2018 winners for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Games, recognizing Team USA’s outstanding performances and awe-inspiring achievements from the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 in the following eight categories:

• Female Olympic Athlete of the Games, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods – Chloe Kim, snowboarding
• Male Olympic Athlete of the Games – Shaun White, snowboarding
• Olympic Team of the Games, presented by Dow – U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team
• Olympic Coach of the Games – Jason Cork, cross-country skiing
• Female Paralympic Athlete of the Games – Oksana Masters, Nordic skiing
• Male Paralympic Athlete of the Games – Dan Cnossen, Nordic skiing
• Paralympic Team of the Games, presented by Dow – U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team
• Paralympic Coach of the Games – Gary Colliander, Nordic skiing

The awards were presented during a live recording of the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Games ceremony, held Thursday at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. The awards show – which featured NBC sportscaster Mike Tirico as host – will be televised as a 90-minute feature for the first time ever, and will run from 6-7:30 p.m. ET May 12 on NBCSN.

The six athlete and team award winners were determined by online fan voting at TeamUSA.org/Awards, where nearly 600,000 fan votes determined 50 percent of the final tally. Members of the Olympic and Paralympic family – including an esteemed panel of Olympic and Paralympic journalists – accounted for the other 50 percent. For coaching awards, National Governing Bodies selected their nominees and the winners were determined via selection committee.

Female Olympic Athlete of the Games, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods
Chloe Kim (Torrance, California), snowboarding
In her first Olympic Games, Kim nailed a 98.25-point victory lap run in halfpipe after posting a 93.75 on her first run to secure the gold medal. She is the youngest woman from any nation to win a gold medal in snowboarding.

Male Olympic Athlete of the Games
Shaun White (Carlsbad, California), snowboarding
With an impressive 97.75-point final run to claim gold, White became the first snowboarder to ever win three Olympic gold medals and is the first American man to win gold medals at three Olympic Winter Games. He now owns the second most gold medals among U.S. men in Olympic Winter Games history.

Male Paralympic Athlete of the Games
Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kansas), Nordic skiing
In his second Paralympic Games, Cnossen medaled in each of the six cross-country and biathlon events he entered, winning one gold, four silvers and one bronze. He also made history as the first American man to win biathlon gold at the Olympic or Paralympic Winter Games.

Olympic Team of the Games, presented by Dow
U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team
For the first time since 1998, Team USA defeated rival Canada for the Olympic gold medal in women’s ice hockey. The U.S. women bested the four-time Olympic champions, 3-2, in a shootout after tying the game with 6:21 remaining in regulation.

Female Paralympic Athlete of the Games
Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky), Nordic skiing
After fracturing her right elbow three weeks prior to the Paralympic Winter Games, Masters overcame unsurmountable odds to win five medals (two golds, two silvers and one bronze) in biathlon and cross-country competition. She left PyeongChang as the most decorated athlete on the team and in the history of the Para Nordic skiing program.

Paralympic Team of the Games, presented by Dow
U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team
Powered by the late shooting heroics of Declan Farmer, Team USA claimed an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal at the Paralympic Winter Games with a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over Canada.

Olympic Coach of the Games
Jason Cork, cross-country skiing
As a coach for the U.S. National Cross-Country Ski Team and the personal coach of two-time Olympian Jessie Diggins, Cork was instrumental in leading Team USA to its first-ever Olympic medal in women’s cross-country skiing and the first U.S. gold medal in the sport. In addition to the historic gold medal in team sprint, Cork also guided Diggins to three individual top-five finishes – the best-ever for an American woman in Olympic cross-country skiing (prior to the gold medal).

Paralympic Coach of the Games
Gary Colliander, Nordic skiing
With Colliander’s biathlon expertise, the U.S. Paralympic Nordic Skiing Team concluded the PyeongChang Games in record-setting fashion with seven biathlon medals. Prior to the PyeongChang Games, the U.S. had only garnered one biathlon medal in Olympic or Paralympic Winter Games history. He also coached the team to nine medals in cross-country races, bringing its event total to 16 medals – including six golds.

Building Dreams Award, presented by USG
Tom Kelly, vice president of communications at U.S. Ski & Snowboard
In a career that has spanned 32 years and nine Olympic Winter Games, Kelly has dedicated his life’s work to telling the incredible stories of Team USA athletes and highlighting the historic milestones that have made U.S. Ski & Snowboard a perennial power on the world’s biggest stage. In a pioneering move that reimagined media coverage at the Olympic Games, Kelly was the mastermind behind the USOC’s Managing Victory tour, which is designed to help Olympic medalists capitalize on their success and promote their sport in the immediate aftermath of their podium performance. Now a cornerstone of both summer and winter versions of the Games, Team USA celebrated the sixth installment of the program at the PyeongChang Olympics, which also marked the final Games for Kelly in his current role with U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award
Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992 Olympic gold medalist (figure skating)
Yamaguchi embodies the word champion, both in her athletic achievements and dedication to giving back to the community. Since being crowned the women’s figure skating Olympic champion in 1992, she has continued to define excellence and inspire others through many philanthropic efforts. Yamaguchi’s personal motto inspired her to establish the Always Dream Foundation, which aims to support disadvantaged children in her native Bay Area. Later, she launched the Always Reading program, which focuses on the development of early childhood literacy skills by integrating e-tablets, digital and traditional books in the classroom. Yamaguchi also established the Always Dream Play Park, offering play equipment designed for children with disabilities, and the Always Striving scholarship, awarded annually to an individual or pairs figure skating team that reflects the dedication, potential and character of an Olympic hopeful.

About the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Games
Formerly known as the USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year awards, the Team USA Awards began in 1974. The impressive and diverse collection of past winners represent nearly 30 sports on the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic programs. Their collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movements throughout history. Beginning in 2014, the Team USA Awards began recognizing the incredible performances of Team USA athletes and teams during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. For more information on the Team USA Awards, visit TeamUSA.org.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ appointees to the State Board of Education appear unlikely to be confirmed by the Senate.

Fellow Republican Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard on Thursday affirmed that Greitens’ nominee Eddy Justice won’t be brought up again for confirmation. Several senators said they would block a vote on him during debate Tuesday.

Greitens has clashed with senators for stacking boards with appointees in order to enact policy changes. The State Board of Education has been a particular point of contention.

Richard on Thursday said he expects Justice and other board appointees to be filibustered if brought up again for confirmation votes.

Greitens’ relationship with lawmakers is further strained because he’s facing two felony charges. Richard is among lawmakers who have called for Greitens to resign.

COOPER COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 2:30p.m. Thursday in Cooper County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Dodge Durango driven by Willard E. Meyer, 95, Jefferson City, was southbound on Route O just south of Swan Road. The vehicle traveled off the right side of the road struck a large rock, several trees and overturned.

Meyer was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Howards Funeral Home. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Johnson County authorities charged a 26-year-old Kansas City, Kansas man with capital murder in the deaths of a woman who was pregnant with his son.

Devonte Dominique Wash will face the death penalty if he is convicted in the January death of 23-year-old Ashley Harlan of Olathe.

She was found shot to death at her home. Harlan was about 20 weeks pregnant when she died.

Kansas allows seeking a capital murder charge if the defendant knowingly or purposely killed or created a great risk of death to more than one person.

Friends told the Star that Harlan moved from Manhattan to Olathe in early January to be nearer to Wash. She was living with her grandfather when she was killed.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources plans to return $575,000 it received for two new state parks to the federal government.

The Springfield News-Leader reports the money was earmarked for restoration at Eleven Point State Park and Jay Nixon State Park, which were purchased in 2016 but never opened. The funds were part of a $1.79 billion ASARCO lead mining bankruptcy and cleanup settlement involving 11 states.

Spokeswoman Connie Paterson says the DNR believes the money should be used to clean up lead mine sites in eastern Missouri. She says the department will use its own budget to replace the $575,000.

Jennifer Johnson Conner, with the Missouri Sierra Club, questioned why the money would be returned at a time when Missouri State Parks is facing $200 million in maintenance needs at its 91 parks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Pompeo took over as America’s top diplomat Thursday after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea.

JUST RELEASED: Photos of Secretary of State Pompeo in North Korea. Secretary Pompeo will do an excellent job helping President Trump lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/pQ0P8hbMTN

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2018

The hard-charging former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote — one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee to get a roll call vote since at least the Carter administration received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who got 56.

Michael Richard Pompeo was just sworn in as the 70th Secretary of State from the West Conference Room at The Supreme Court of the United States by Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. pic.twitter.com/RH95jrt8vk

— Hogan Gidley (@hogangidley45) April 26, 2018

He was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-American, who said he was “proud” to officiate for the occasion. Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the State Department, said he was “delighted” to serve as America’s top diplomat.

“I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away,” Pompeo said.

Then it was off to Andrews Air Force Base, where a government aircraft was waiting to ferry him to Brussels for meetings at NATO headquarters. State Department staffers, demoralized after a tumultuous first year of President Donald Trump’s administration, gave a round of applause to Pompeo, who responded as he boarded the aircraft with a casual, “Hi, I’m Mike.”

Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, is expected to guide Trump’s foreign policy farther to the right than Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department that has lost relevance under Trump and a diplomatic corps deeply dispirited by the tenure of Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled.

His confirmation creates a vacancy atop the CIA that will be filled, at least for now, by Gina Haspel, the intelligence agency’s No. 2 official. Trump has nominated Haspel to replace Pompeo, but she faces a rocky road to confirmation. The CIA said she took over Thursday as acting director while the Senate weighs whether to make it permanent.

For Pompeo, a long list of pressing issues awaits, including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal, Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and ongoing disagreements in the White House about the future U.S. role in Syria.

Trump said he was pleased by Pompeo’s confirmation, calling him a “patriot” with “immense talent, energy and intellect.”

“He will always put the interests of America first,” Trump said in a statement. “He has my trust. He has my support.”

Yet the Senate vote followed an uneasy confirmation process for Pompeo that underscored Trump’s growing difficulties in getting nominees in place for top positions. On Monday, it appeared Pompeo would fail a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the panel ultimately cleared him after last-minute support from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Previously confirmed for the CIA job, Pompeo was supported Thursday by all the Republican senators and by six Democrats, including several up for re-election in conservative-leaning states. GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is being treated for cancer, was absent.

In the run-up to Pompeo’s confirmation, his backers emphasized his resume as a West Point and Harvard Law School graduate and former congressman who enjoys a close relationship with Trump. Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang over Easter after being nominated for secretary of state and met with Kim ahead of the planned summit with Trump, expected in late May or June.

“He’s the perfect person to come in at this time and lead those efforts,” Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who chairs the foreign relations panel, said on the Senate floor moments before Pompeo was confirmed.

Yet his opponents warned that his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims made him ill-equipped to serve as a diplomat or to represent the U.S. on the world stage. Pompeo used his confirmation hearing to try to soften that image, edging away from past comments about regime change in North Korea.

Pompeo takes the helm ahead of Trump’s expected decision about whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal by a May 12 deadline and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. A staunch Iran critic, Pompeo has long deplored the 2015 nuclear accord but has supported Trump’s efforts to get European allies to strengthen restrictions on Iran.

“If there’s no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and to achieve a better deal,” Pompeo said in his confirmation hearing.

The State Department said no secretary of state had ever traveled abroad so soon after being confirmed. Originally, Deputy Secretary John Sullivan, who had been filling in as secretary since Tillerson departed, had planned to make the trip. With Pompeo’s confirmation imminent, the plane was held on the tarmac until Pompeo could arrive and swap in.

In Brussels, Pompeo will attend a NATO foreign ministers summit and meet with the top diplomats from Turkey and Italy. Pompeo planned to keep up pressure on NATO’s European members, particularly Germany, to live up to their past pledges to boost their defense spending.

From there, the State Department said Pompeo planned to fly to the Middle East for stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, where the future of the Iran deal and the conflict in Syria will be significant agenda items. Pompeo will arrive in the region ahead of a series of events that could potentially plunge it into deeper disarray, including the Iran deal decision and the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

 

 

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Outgoing CIA Director Mike Pompeo has cleared the final hurdle to become secretary of state.

The Senate voted 57-42 Thursday to confirm the former Kansas Congressman’s  nomination.

Pompeo’s confirmation narrowly made it out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday after last-minute support from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. He’s expected to have an easier time in the full Senate, though the tally will still likely be close.

Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by President Donald Trump on Twitter last month.

Pompeo is expected to be sworn in almost immediately. A long list of pressing issues awaits him including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal and Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Pompeo was first elected to serve Kansas fourth congressional district in 2010.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Health officials say there are now 10 reported cases of measles in Missouri, including three students.

The Kansas City Health Department plans to announce seven more exposure sites in the Kansas City area.

Department spokesman Bill Snook says the three students with the virus attend Liberty Public Schools. Two students pose no risk, but a third student may have exposed others at South Valley Middle School.

A district spokesman says children who aren’t immunized are being held out of school.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Service official Kerri Tesreau says the cases may have come from an international traveler living in Missouri.

Health officials in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa are warning that a Missouri traveler may have exposed their residents to the virus.