For those watching figure skating, this is the simplest explanation of a triple axel I could come up with:

If you're tuned in to #prevagenuschamps #usfigure, here is a round up of skaters competing for the #Olympics2026 , with one-on-one interviews from Andrew Torgashev, Maxim Naumov, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Jacob Sanchez and Jimmy Ma: wapo.st/4jBKtUG

Ten years have elapsed since @newsbysamuels.bsky.social included this remarkable paragraph in a story still well worth reading. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tru...

Alysa Liu makes you cry on Saturday and smile on Sunday. What a satisfying evening of skating so far. #gpfigure #skateamerica

So many ice dancers are pretending to die at the end of their programs, and, as a serious journalist, I need to figure out what the heck is going on. #gpfigure #skateamerica

How Alysa Liu has mastered holding the hearts of everyone in an audience is stunning. The crisp running edges, the increase in technical difficulty and the propulsive surge feels different than before. It is the same program, but feels like we are in a different era for her. #gpfigure #skateamerica

Feather light jumping on Lara Naki Gutman, excellent run out on those jumps. #gpfigure #skateamerica

The temperature just turned up in the arena after an uninhibited Starr Andrews leads the first group, then Rink coming out of the gate with a whirl of a triple axel. #gpfigure #skateamerica

Brown/Brown really captured the spirit of the 90s dance in their exuberant interpretation to jump around - much like those in the 90s, though, probably got ahead of themselves with a range of minor and serious bobbles. But encouraging progress. #gpfigure #skateamerica

Nikolaj Memola, for the record, is taller than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. #gpfigure #skateamerica

We are at the Club Kabuki Tomono and there's no place I'd rather be on a Friday night. Love those stalking deep edges and a gorgeous triple axel. #skateamerica #gpfigure

A standing ovation for Jason Brown, which feels like an appreciation for all that he has given to the sport over the years. This particular program felt a little self-conscious, hesitant going into the axel and a stumble on his combination. Lots of room for growth, even now. #gpfigure #skateamerica

The crowd at Skate America is gearing up for some riverdance! I, for one, think the step sequence is worth being a TikTok trend. #skateamerica #gpfigure

Luc Economides' short program mixing Lion King and Kanye West is my guilty pleasure. I love this program so much. #skateamerica #gpfigure

Join us next week for our special @litquake.org installment of Movie Night at Roxie Theater with @ingridrojasc.bsky.social + @newsbysamuels.bsky.social Tickets: tinyurl.com/mry3xe93

🧵 (3/3) Dayton Literary Peace Prize hosts a special event with DLPP honorees @vluck89.bsky.social‬, @newsbysamuels.bsky.social, @gilbertking.bsky.social. @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social speaks in Montgomery, AL. William & Phillip Taubman launch McNamara at War with a virtual talk at 92NY.

Phenomenal reporting on how D.C.’s failure to curb truancy fueled a surge in youth crime, by @newsbysamuels.bsky.social @lauren-lumpkin11.bsky.social and @Jdharden.bsky.social no paywall: wapo.st/4432CV3

Last school year, 30% of D.C. middle-schoolers — or five times more than a decade ago — were truant. See how empty desks — and the city's failed attempts to curb the problem — fueled the district's youth crime wave. By @jdharden.bsky.social, @newsbysamuels.bsky.social & Lauren Lumpkin:

Amidst platitudes about how the District needed more afterschool programs, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared that every student needs an afterschool program. Then she cut the afterschool budget by $1 million. One of the jaw dropping parts of this story done by me and my colleagues: wapo.st/4432CV3

Pessimism is the ultimate American privilege. It is the feeling held most easily by those whose lives would still be functional, and maybe even satisfactory, if nothing changed. #georgefloyd #memorialday

As we are remembering George Floyd, I highly recommend the Pulitzer Prize winning His Name is George Floyd by @newsbysamuels.bsky.social and Toluse Olorunnipa. So powerful. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/703358...

@newsbysamuels.bsky.social I am watching your talk at Westminster Forum on May 15 in Minneapolis😢 So moving is your story from your book “His Name is George Floyd” We all have grief in our hearts from losing loved ones like George Floyd. He is resurrected by your story. Bless You.

Next week is 5 years since George Floyd was murdered. On Tuesday, I listened to @newsbysamuels.bsky.social talk about the process of writing his (co-authored) Pulitzer Prize-winning book, His Name Is George Floyd. What a truly meaningful experience to learn of Floyd's *life.* What a story. #floyd

I will follow Alex anywhere!

That she did it with joy and exuberance was such a good look for the sport. Her interaction with Sakamoto at the end was such a departure from what we saw at the 2022 Olympics, when the pressure, the cheating and the vitriol of the Russian figure skating program clouded the sport’s innate radiance.

I WILL BE GETTING NO SLEEP #worldfigure THIS IS AMAZING

I’m on paternity leave so I couldn’t make it to Boston for #worldfigure #WorldFigure2025 but, my goodness, this competition is so riveting ! Edge of my seat going into this last skate.

I’ve posted a few reasons why jurors concluded Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd. I conducted hundreds of interviews, watched the criminal trial, read a ton of research for a an award-winning book I wrote. I posted on C because it’s where this is proliferating and I can’t figure out how to copy

Me, as he came out: That’s not really Ilia Kulik, right? Me, after he takes four strides on the ice: That is definitely Ilia Kulik! Nearly four decades after winning his gold medal, Kulik is still skating with great speed and that youthful bounce. #legacyonice

This afternoon, figure skaters will honor the 67 victims who died in the American Eagle flight 5342 plane crash at #legacyonice. I am resharing this piece I wrote about what that crash taught people about the nature of life and the nature of their sport:

Every American gold medalist in figure skating is on a group text together. When I called to make sure it was true because Tenley Albright is 89, I was told she is one of the most active members! This was a bright tidbit in this story about the AA crash. Which I hope you’ll read: wapo.st/4gy6hNI

When the plane crashed in DC, I thought of journalist @newsbysamuels.bsky.social. Robert covers big political issues—he wrote the book about George Floyd—but also loves and writes about figure skating. This story, about the crash that killed 11 skaters, is rich and sensitive. wapo.st/3CDHH03.

For generations, their community has passed along this adage: Figure skating teaches its athletes how to handle the nature of life. Fortunes change in a fraction of a second. A slip of the blade can yield a thud so hard that it shakes an entire rink. In a flash, dreams are lost. That is the sport.

Was Threads really that bad?