Shaun White’s freeski and snowboard event series, the Snow League, unveiled its world championship trophy just ahead of its third event of the season.
The Athlete Draw for the Snow League’s snowboard field, who will compete in Aspen this weekend, also acted as the unveiling ceremony for the trophy.
Like much of the Snow League’s other programming, the trophy was created with the opportunity to take a different approach than traditional action sports awards in mind.
Notably, the Snow League pays its athletes an appearance fee, regardless of competition results, and has a whopping $2.2M combined prize purse. White’s own successful snowboard career has brought him a level of celebrity and entrepreneurial success.
Designed by luxury jewelry maker, Tiffany & Co., the trophy aims to match the caliber and legacy of the League’s world-class athletes. Crafted from the precious metals Tiffany & Co. is known for, the League wanted to create a trophy that is indicative of and celebrates the high-level achievements of these athletes.
“From the beginning, we wanted to raise the bar for what a championship in winter sports could look like. Partnering with Tiffany & Co. to create a luxury trophy brings a sense of permanence, prestige and history that our sports have been deserving of for so long,” said White in a press release. “These are world-class athletes performing at the highest level, and it felt important that the trophy reflect that same level of excellence, craftsmanship and greatness.”
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The Snow League Championship trophy, designed by Tiffany & Co.
Dean Blotto Gray/The Snow League
Standing 14.25 inches tall and weighing in at 13 pounds, the trophy is crafted from sterling silver and 24k gold vermeil. It took roughly 30 weeks to craft at the Tiffany hollowware workshop in Rhode Island using traditional silversmithing and advanced fabrication techniques.
The design reflects the movement and precision of halfpipe riding, with contemporary yet organic lines inspired by halfpipe aerials. The top of the trophy is supported by four intersecting pillars that form the shape of a halfpipe and represent the Snow League’s brand and the ethos of bringing together freeski and snowboard cultures.
The trophy will be presented annually to the men’s and women’s world champions of the freeski and snowboard halfpipe finals at the Snow League and any future Snow League Championship events. New rings will be added with each champion crowned, and the names of winning athletes will be etched into it to cement their legacy in freeskiing and snowboarding.
The Snow League championship trophy.
Dean Blotto Gray/The Snow League
The Snow League’s third event of the season takes place in Aspen Buttermilk this weekend (February 27-28), with the snowboard field competing ahead of the season finale.
In March, the first Snow League World Champions will be crowned in both freeski and snowboard at LAAX, Switzerland.
Related: A Letter To Skiers After One of the Worst Avalanche Weeks In History
Principal photography is set to get underway March 1 on “Chheledhora,” a Bengali-language thriller from writer-director Shieladitya Moulik.
The Indo-American co-production, starring Swastika Mukherjee, will film across locations in Itanagar and Ziro in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Moulik, whose previous work includes the “Sweater” and “Surjo,” centers the film on Brishti, a divorced woman – flawed, wounded and largely misread by those around her – who impulsively “steals” her daughter for a birthday celebration, only to find the child genuinely abducted. An unexpected discovery sets off a volatile chain of events that sends Brishti on a life-altering journey. The film weaves together family drama, thriller elements and dark humor, with a morally complex female protagonist at its center, and is aimed at the international festival circuit.
“‘Chheledhora’ is a story about broken parents discovering the courage and selflessness they didn’t know they possessed,” said Moulik. “I’m deeply interested in flawed people who are still capable of love. This film may unfold like a road journey with unexpected twists and turns, but at its heart, it’s about healing – about how children, often unknowingly, become the moral compass for adults. It’s a very intimate story about second chances and rediscovering one’s humanity.”
Mukherjee brings a wide range of character work to the role, with credits spanning Dibakar Banerjee’s “Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!” for Yash Raj Films, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Telluride and Toronto title “Janala,” Prime Video series “Paatal Lok,” Netflix’s “Qala,” and most recently a gangster turn in “Kaali Potka” for ZEE5.
“Brishti is not an easy woman to like, and that’s what moved me,” said Mukherjee. “She is impulsive, wounded and deeply flawed, but her love for her daughter is instinctive and fierce. I was drawn to the vulnerability in her – the way this unexpected journey forces her to confront herself. At its heart, this is a very tender story about motherhood, forgiveness and finding strength in the most fragile moments.”
The film is co-produced by India’s Handyyman and Sita22 Films, which operates across India and the U.S. Handyyman’s previous credits include the streaming show “Hawa Badle Hassu” and the Indo-Italian-Swiss co-production “Interdependence.” Sita22 Films is a new production company founded by Anindita (Ann) Mukherjee, who spent four decades as a corporate executive at global companies.
“Shieladitya and I go back to our early advertising days, including our first NFDC Film Bazaar in 2014 with ‘Mrs Scooter,’ his first feature – which built a strong creative shorthand between us,” said Protiqe Mojoomdar of Handyyman. “When I read ‘Chheledhora,’ I had this urgent instinct to come on board because the script had emotional depth and commercial energy, and with Swastika attached early, we knew we had a winner.”
Added Ann Mukherjee: “Throughout my four decades as a corporate executive at global companies including PepsiCo, S.C. Johnson and Pernod Ricard, I’ve seen how creativity is the oxygen to growth. ‘Chheledhora’ drew me in because it places women and children at its emotional core – portraying both their vulnerability and resilience. Funding and co-producing this film reflects the kind of socially-conscious, emotionally-layered stories I want my new production company to champion, in order to give voice to those who are innocent and voiceless.”
Italian cinematographer Vincenzo Condorelli, whose credits include “Cobalt Blue” and “Songs of Paradise,” will lens the film amid the dramatic terrain of Ziro Valley. The crew includes line producer Suven Kumar Das (“Chitrangada”), creative producer Jitin Hingorani (“Call Me Dancer”), production designer Somanwita Bhattacharya (“The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case”) and costume designer Ajopa Mukherjee (“Fish, Sweets, & More”). Production is expected to run through the end of March, with additional casting still to be unveiled.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, but doctors say many people don’t recognize the early warning signs until a major event happens.
Two separate skiers were involved in fatal accidents at Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California, last Friday, February 20, 2026.
Both incidents were reported just before noon at Heavenly’s Boulder Lodge. Authorities say life-saving measures were attempted for both victims; however, the attempts were unsuccessful, and both were pronounced dead on the scene.
As of Monday, February 23, 2026, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department has identified both victims. A statement released by the Sheriff’s Department names Nicholas Jamil Haddad, 33, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, and Brian Robert Frias, 57, of Elk Grove, California, as the deceased.
There is no connection between Haddad and Frias, and the incidents were unrelated.
The cause and manner of death for both victims remains under investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. See below for their full statement.
The incidents at Heavenly come on the heels of a deadly week for skiers in the Lake Tahoe area and beyond.
Last week, nine skiers were killed in an avalanche near Castle Peak, California. Northstar California Resort also reported three skier deaths in the month of February.
Our thoughts and condolences are with the friends and family and all those affected by the tragedies at Heavenly and beyond.
Related: Skiers Take Over New York City As Blizzard Dumps Snow
Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. and Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao are stepping back into the ring to face each other one more time, and they’ll do it live on Netflix.
The two boxing legends are set to meet in a professional bout on Sept. 19, 2026 at The Sphere in Las Vegas, with Netflix streaming the event around the world. This will mark the first time Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) and Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) have faced each other since their historic “Fight of the Century” back in 2015, which Mayweather won via unanimous decision.
Pacquiao has remained active as a professional boxer since then, fighting eight more matches in the intervening 10 years. He most recently fought to a majority draw against Mario Barrios in July 2025. Mayweather, meanwhile, has not fought professionally since he defeated MMA star Conor McGregor by TKO in 2017. He has fought several exhibition matches since then, though, including those against Logan Paul and John Gotti III among others.
Further details about the other fights on the card will be announced at a later date. The rematch was organized and will be produced by EverWonder Studio, Hidden Empire, and Limitless X Holdings. The event itself is being promoted by Manny Pacquiao Promotions and Mayweather Promotions in partnership with CSI Sports/Fight Sports.
“Floyd and I gave the world what remains the biggest fight in boxing history,” Pacquiao said. “The fans have waited long enough—they deserve this rematch, and it will be even bigger now that it will be streamed live globally on Netflix. I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him. As always, I dedicate this fight to my fellow Filipinos around the world and to bringing glory to the Philippines.”
Mayweather added, “I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result.”
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 1 was one of the most anticipated matchups in boxing history. The event drew a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and also set a world-record live gate of $72 million at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
This will be the latest high-profile live fight Netflix has streamed. Most famously, the company aired the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson event, which drew 108 million live global viewers. They followed that up with Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 3, after the two put on a dazzling performance during the Tyson-Paul card, as well as Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford. Netflix also streamed Anthony Joshua’s sixth round knockout of Paul back in December. Up next, Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury will fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
Netflix is also beginning to move into MMA, with Ronda Rousey set to fight Gina Carano on May 16, with both women’s MMA legends coming out of retirement.
MARKSVILLE, La. (WNTZ) – The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana will host its 28th annual Pow Wow on May 16 and May 17, 2026, at the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville. This year’s event, titled Honoring John D. Barbry, will be held at the Earl J. Barbry Sr. Convention Center. The public event serves as a […]
This phase of the storm that hit California and the Sierra Nevada has abated.
Mostly sunny skies are expected at ski resorts like Mammoth Mountain and Palisades Tahoe. The start of a perhaps wet Sierra storm is in the cards for Monday.
For now, though, incredulity is the main emotion associated with what happened in the Sierra Nevada this week. Feet and feet and feet of snow hit the mountains. Several resorts, tangling with the wind and snow, instituted closures and limited openings.
On Friday morning, Mammoth Mountain shared in its snow report that it was still digging out and didn’t plan to open upper mountain lifts.
If you plan to visit a resort, we recommend checking the social media page or website of your local mountain for updates. The website of the Sierra Avalanche Center is a must-visit after major storms like this, too, for up-to-date backcountry avalanche information.
As epic as the snow has been this week for the previously barren ski conditions, we’ve also seen multiple tragic avalanche incidents in California and elsewhere. First and foremost, we want all of you to stay safe. The powder comes second.
Keep reading for storm totals.
The 2026 POWDER Photo Annual is here! Look for a print copy on a newsstand near you, or click here to have a copy shipped directly to your front door.
More buried cars at Mammoth Mountain, California.
Cody Mathison/Mammoth Mountain
California Ski Resort Storm Totals
You can think of these totals as a rough gauge. They were largely pulled from ski resort snow reports, which differ from resort to resort. Some provide seven-day totals, others only offer smaller windows. Those that aren’t seven days or storm totals are specified. A few Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe are included, as well.
Rough gauge or not, though, what is abundantly clear is the sheer amount of snow that fell, easily exceeding 100 inches in some places.
Resorts are ordered by total snowfall.
Palisades Tahoe: 124″ (storm total, according to Instagram story post)
China Peak: 82 to 118 inches
Sugar Bowl: 111 inches
Tahoe Donner: 95 inches
Mammoth Mountain: 63 to 94 inches
Kirkwood: 92 inches
Sierra-at-Tahoe: 91 inches
Northstar: 80 inches
Bear Valley: 69 inches (72 hour)
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe (NV): 65 to 78 inches
Homewood Ski Resort: 65 inches (per this post, likely higher)
Dodge Ridge: 65 inches (72 hour)
Heavenly: 62 inches
Alta Sierra: 50 inches
June Mountain: 44 inches (3-day)
Mountain High: 35 inches
Mt. Shasta Ski Park: 31 inches (72 hour)
Mt. Baldy: About 30 inches (per this post)
Donner Ski Ranch: 28 inches (24 hour)
Snow Valley: 24 inches (3-day)
Bear Mountain: 18 inches (3-day)
Snow Summit: 18 inches (3-day)
Boreal Mountain: 10 inches (24 hour, storm total is much higher)
Related: The Best Photos From California’s 70-Inch Blizzard
Not in the thick of awards season, not making history with a 40-year gap between Oscar nominations, and certainly not doing it as the ferociously unforgettable Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s horror-thriller “Weapons.”
The veteran actress returns to the Oscar spotlight four decades after her inaugural nomination for “Twice in a Lifetime” (1985), now recognized in the best supporting actress category for playing Gladys, an elderly relative whose late-film arrival in “Weapons” detonates the movie’s final act — and has left audiences shaken ever since.
“I always defer to the writers,” Madigan says. “It’s got to be on the page. It’s got to be the script.” From the moment she read Cregger’s screenplay, she recognized Gladys instantly: “I just fell in love with Aunt Gladys. From the first time she spoke, I just knew who she was.”
That instinct drove everything, including the film’s demanding physical sequences. “This is Gladys. She’s running for her life,” she says. “I can do it. I can do it.” The transformation became a talking point for viewers who didn’t recognize her at first glance — a reaction she calls “the supreme compliment.”
If this campaign has reframed Madigan for younger audiences, she’s clear-eyed about what it means and what it doesn’t. “I’m an ultra-realist, because I’ve been doing this a long time,” she says, adding, “I am on people’s radar. People are paying a lot more attention.”
But she’s blunt about where she is right now: “Right now I’m unemployed. So that’s what happens.”
In a season crowded with comeback narratives and overdue recognition, Madigan’s story lands differently. She never stopped, but finally, the industry caught back up.
Read excerpts from her interview below, edited and condensed for clarity.
Amy Madigan in “Weapons”
Warner Bros.
You are here receiving your second Academy Award nomination 40 years after your first. You now hold the longest gap between two nominations for an actress. Your first was in 1985 for “Twice in a Lifetime.” Did you ever think you’d be back?
No. I can be honest with you. The first time around, it was a complete surprise. The whole world of how you navigate all of this was completely different. I worked with a cast — Gene Hackman, Ellen Burstyn, Ann-Margaret and Brian Dennehy — so I was just like, wow, I know these people through their work. I was very surprised. But this time around … I mean, did you think Aunt Gladys would end up here at the Oscars? No [laughs]. Not because of quality, but because of genre bias. But I’ve loved being wrong about this.
And with a Critics Choice Award under your belt, too. How did that feel?
Once again, I was in a stellar group of people. I was not expecting it. When they called my name I was like, “What?” And if anybody’s watching, I ran up there, which was kind of hilarious. But it was a delight. Critics’ work is personal, it’s very emotional, and we need it to help get the word out — to show people, no, this is a great piece of cinema. The love that’s come for Aunt Gladys was not expected.
This may be an overused term, but you are truly “unrecognizable” in the role. A number of people have said they didn’t know it was you.
A number of people have said that, and I say that is the supreme compliment. As an actor, you hope you can just go inside of yourself and the character. The look had so much to do with Aunt Gladys. It took us a while to figure it out. We did a lot of tests, put things on, took them off — but we had it at just under three hours. Compared to others like Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”), who I understand was in the chair nine to 11 hours. But when you have a part like that, you do it. And you need to trust the people around you.
To get the part, was this a traditional audition or something else entirely?
The people I work with said Zach Cregger was doing a new movie. I had seen “Barbarian,” which I thought was unbelievable — don’t pull that rope in the basement. So I knew Zach could really make a movie. I was told he’d like to meet for lunch. And Zach has been very open about this: On the way to lunch, he was telling himself, “Do not offer her the part. Do not offer her the part. Let’s just see what happens.” We just started talking — he was very open, volunteering personal information about his life. And after lunch, he says, “The part’s yours if you want it.” He’d seen my work over the years and knew I had the right combination of cutting someone down and being playful about it.
I have to admit something a little embarrassing. I’ve loved the Oscars my entire life, but I learned only in the past few months that you were married to Ed Harris.
That’s good, though. That’s how it should be. I stand by this notion — he should have won for “The Hours” (2002). What’s your favorite Ed performance? Well, I’m partial — I can’t be impartial. But I think “Pollock” is a great movie. Sony just remastered and recolored the whole thing. It’s so hard to make a story about an artist’s work. It’s a beautiful film. And to play Peggy Guggenheim — I was kind of like, “Ed, I’m not a Jewish woman, I don’t know.” And he goes, “No, no, you can do this.” So I worked with another prosthetic, wigs, all of that. He’s a great actor. We met doing a stage play here in Los Angeles, right on the stage. And you learn a lot about a person when you’re standing on the boards with them. There’s no equipment around you.
How has he been through this whole awards run?
When Ed got his nominations, it was such a different time. There was no real awards circuit like this. Not a ton of press. Now it’s such a different thing, and this whole enveloping process. But to answer your question: Ed is thrilled for me. He knows what it’s all about, and he knows the business side often doesn’t coincide with the artistic side. I’m very lucky that I’ve got someone watching my back.
Knowing how much you love classic cinema — if you could go back to the ’40s or ’50s and work with any of those great actors, who would you choose?
For the women, I’d love to work with Bette Davis. When you think about a young woman starting her career, doing “Of Human Bondage” — I mean, she was just such a great actress. And of course, look at the material she had. For the men, I always wanted to work with Richard Widmark or Robert Mitchum. Widmark was often the ancillary guy, except when he had that one — “Panic in the Streets” (1950) — where he was running around the city with the bubonic plague. That was a very scary movie. There was something about those films, and the cinematography knocked me out.
Being back on the circuit looks a lot different. Who’s been one of your favorite people you’ve met along the way?
Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”). We became cigarette buddies, and we’d go out on the platform and have a real conversation. That movie, first of all, is so necessary right now politically, given what’s going on in our country. And his performance is very understated in this dramatic way. I was very emotional watching it. The art has to be out there. I’ve never been one of those people that’s like, “Shut up and play basketball.” No, you have a platform, and now more than ever, that platform must be opened and exposed and blast out there.
Did you watch Bad Bunny and the Super Bowl halftime show?
I got to see the halftime show, which I cranked at 11, as they say. And I was just floored. It was so emotional. It was so beautiful. It just enraptured everybody. And it really did make me giggle that the people on the other side of the aisle were just so offended and flipping out about it. What’s happening with ICE, what’s happening in Minnesota, across the country, in the Middle East — things are not mutually exclusive. But I think people are paying attention here in the United States.
Looking over your career, what’s the one thing that’s part of your legacy — something that reminds people why you became an actor?
When I mentor young people, I say: If you can do something else, do it. You have to grind. You have to want this more than anything, even if that means three jobs on the side. But what always gets my heart — it’s my love for it. It’s about the work. And “the work” is a wonderful word. It’s not artsy. It’s not precious. You do the work. And that is the most exciting thing to me. And it still is.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
Bossier Parish Community College received a $50,000 grant from Louisiana Charities Trust to expand its Certified Nursing Assistant program and help address Louisiana’s healthcare worker shortage.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that at least eight skiers died in a backcountry avalanche near Castle Peak, located near Truckee and Lake Tahoe, California, yesterday, February 17, 2026.
Speaking at a press conference today, Sheriff Shannan Moon confirmed the death toll and that six skiers were rescued last night, two of whom were unable to move due to injuries sustained in the avalanche.
The body of one of the victims remains missing at this time. The eight deceased individuals have been located. Moon mentioned that the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office has transitioned its operations from rescue to recovery.
The incident surpasses the 1982 Alpine Meadows avalanche, which killed seven, as California’s deadliest avalanche in history.
POWDER will update this article as more information is made available.
Related: 10 Skiers Missing After Avalanche Near Lake Tahoe, California