Three Things for February 8
1. Nathan Chen sets new record at Winter Olympics
American figure skater Nathan Chen set a new record in the men’s short program at the Beijing 2022 winter Olympics on Tuesday.
Chen now holds a “commanding lead” after his first day of competitions, reports ESPN.
Chen scored 113.97 points, breaking the previous record set by Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu.
“Chen opened with a perfect quad flip, breezed through the triple axel that sometimes gives him problems and drilled a quad lutz-triple toe loop that by itself scored more than 21 points,” reports AP News.
"I was elated," Chen said in an interview on the NBC broadcast. "Last Olympics, both short programs didn't go the way I wanted and to finally get the opportunity to skate the programs the way that I wanted — it feels really great. It means a lot."
If Chen maintains his lead through Thursday’s free skate, he will take home the gold medal.
For more information on the Olympic games, follow @NBCSports.
2. Navy opens investigation following SEAL candidate’s death
The U.S. Navy is currently investigating the death of 24-year-old Kyle Mullen and the illness of a fellow candidate shortly after the sailors completed the SEAL’s “hell week”.
According to ABC News, Mullen died on Friday, Feb. 4, making him the fourth SEAL applicant to die during selection since 2001.
"One such accident is one too many," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Monday. "We just don't know what happened.”
Kirby urges all to remain patient throughout the investigation, claiming it is too early to place the blame on the SEALs’ training process.
"The training has to be demanding, given the work that our Navy SEALs do on behalf of this country every single day," Kirby said. "So you would expect the standards to be very, very high for their readiness."
Gov. Phil Murphy ordered the flags in Mullen’s home state of New Jersey be flow at half-mast to honor the fallen SEAL, calling him ‘a living legend.’
3. Retired pope seeks pardon for abuse
On Tuesday, retired pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness for any “grievous faults” in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases.
Benedict did not personally admit to any wrongdoings.
“I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church. All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate,” said Benedict.
“Demands for accountability have only increased as the church has come to terms with decades of sexual abuse by priests and cover-up by their bishops,” reports AP News. “Benedict, 94, was responding to a Jan. 20 report from a German law firm that had been commissioned by the German Catholic Church to look into how cases of sexual abuse were handled in the Munich archdiocese between 1945 and 2019.”
The reports criticize Benedict’s handling of four cases which took place while he was archbishop.
