The US women’s hockey team secured gold Thursday with a 2–1 overtime victory over Canada, renewing one of the Winter Olympics’ most consistent rivalries. The two teams have faced each other in all but one Olympic final since women’s hockey debuted in 1998. Goalie Aerin Frankel blocked 30 of 31 shots in the final. Earlier in the tournament, she became the first woman to record three shutouts in a single Olympic appearance. Captain Hilary Knight scored with roughly two minutes left in regulation to force overtime, breaking the US Olympic record for career points and goals in the process. Just over four minutes into sudden-death overtime, teammate Megan Keller found the net to seal the victory.
In the 1930s, as Germany rearmed and Europe edged toward war, the Abwehr, Germany’s military intelligence service, began casting its recruitment net across Britain and the United States. Aviation secrets topped the wish list. A chain reaction began with Christopher Draper, the so-called “Mad Major,” who once flew a monoplane through Tower Bridge, and his contact with a fascist-leaning airman tied to German intelligence. Draper eventually reported his recruitment attempt to MI5 and was run as a double agent. One of the addresses he was told to use: P.O. Box 629, Hamburg.
Across the Atlantic, Abwehr operatives targeted US aircraft factories, recruiting sympathetic insiders and relying on couriers aboard transatlantic liners. One sloppy handoff in New York began unraveling the network. Then came Jessie Jordan, a Scottish-born hairdresser recruited in Hamburg and dispatched back to Britain. Her tradecraft proved amateurish: postcards marked in German and reused envelopes. MI5 quietly intercepted her mail to that same Hamburg P.O. box. What followed was a transnational sweep that exposed agents from Manhattan to Prague.
Join intelligence historian Andrew Jeffrey in this week’s podcast selection, 'A Taste For Treason', to trace spy rings and double agents.
Take on immersive games and challenges at SPYGAMES! Test your team's skills and strategy, compete to climb the leaderboards, and recharge with food and drink in your own private space hosted by a dedicated staff member.
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Take on immersive games and challenges at SPYGAMES! Test your team's skills and strategy, compete to climb the leaderboards, and recharge with food and drink in your own private space hosted by a dedicated staff member.
Lunar New Year celebrations began Tuesday, ushering in the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese zodiac. The 15-day festival starts with the new moon and concludes with the Lantern Festival. The horse is the seventh animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle and represents energy, independence, and ambition. Those born in horse years are often described as dynamic and charismatic, while Fire Horse years are known for bold action and change. Traditions and celebrations center on family gatherings and good fortune. Children receive lai see, or hóngbāo, red envelopes filled with “lucky money.” The last Fire Horse year was in 1966.
History
The Ship That Sank Twice
How do you lose a 217-foot steamship for more than 150 years?
Researchers have identified the wreck of the Lac La Belle, a luxury passenger steamer that disappeared beneath Lake Michigan in 1872. The vessel was found 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, resting on the lakebed after more than a century and a half out of sight. 80-year-old shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn initially located the hull using sonar in October 2022. He delayed announcing the find until completing a 3D model of the wreck.
Built in Cleveland in 1864, the Lac La Belle had an eventful career. It first sank in 1866 following a collision on the St. Clair River, was salvaged and restored in 1869, and later purchased by a Milwaukee company. On Oct. 13, 1872, it departed Milwaukee carrying 53 passengers and crew, along with cargo including barley, flour, pork, and whiskey. Two hours into the journey, the ship began taking on water. A storm rolled in, sinking the vessel, and eight people lost their lives.
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Give your party guests an unforgettable experience designed to engage, entertain, and inspire. Our dedicated staff will be on hand to help, and you'll even get your own private space to celebrate.
Could a rainforest toxin explain a death in the Arctic?
New forensic analysis suggests Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny may have been exposed to epibatidine, a potent neurotoxin originally identified in South American poison dart frogs. According to statements from the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands, independent laboratory testing detected traces of the compound in preserved tissue samples following Navalny’s death in February 2024. The findings were reported to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for further review.
Epibatidine affects the nervous system by binding to receptors involved in muscle control. In extremely small doses, it can cause paralysis, respiratory failure, and death. Scientists note the toxin does not occur naturally in Russia, though it can be synthesized in a laboratory setting. Navalny died while serving a prison sentence in a remote Arctic penal colony. Russian authorities maintain he died of natural causes. The reported presence of a rare neurotoxin has renewed international scrutiny over the circumstances surrounding his death.
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