By Karin Caifa

(CNN) – Before the sequins and the sparkle, there are sketches, hand stitches, a design niche and even rules of the sport to consider when making a skating costume.

Los Angeles-based designer Lisa McKinnon, who started skating at age 4, began making her own costumes when she was 12. Her craftsmanship caught the eye other skaters.

“Other people noticed and they started asking me to make them things too,” she says. “I was only about 15 or 16 when I was making actual competition costumes for the national champion in Sweden.”

For the 2026 Olympic games in Italy, McKinnon designed costumes for U.S. figure skaters Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito.

“The figure skating community is actually quite small in a way,” McKinnon says. “When you’re making costumes like myself, a lot of it is word of mouth. They ask, ‘Oh wait, hey, where did you get that from? Who made that for you?’ That’s how it started for me.”

McKinnon’s process includes detailed production and collaboration with skaters to ensure the creation adheres to the International Skating Union’s regulations for the costumes. For example, no part of the costume can fall on the ice or the skater will be penalized in their score.

McKinnon says working with Glenn included conversations with her and her choreographers. However, when creating Levito’s costume, “it’s also a very open process, and that one was like totally just what I was feeling when I was listening to the music and also what I think she would look good in.”

Naomi Brunson, of Springfield, Virginia, has always dreamed of designing ice skating costumes, and is inspired by McKinnon’s work and others who make skating costumes.

“There’s so many talented designers out there, and a lot of respect between designers,” she says. “They have this amazing gift, and Lisa McKinnon … is just spectacular, so it’s fun to see.”

Bruson is new to crafting skating costumes and has worked with junior and senior level skaters and a couple of nth U.S. National Team.

The work takes time. Brunson says she takes about 10 hours for research, which includes conversations about a skater’s music and choreography, sketches, material selection, and fittings. Building the costume can take anywhere from 10 to 40 hours. Brunson even makes her own lace and estimates that she hand-placed more than 120,000 rhinestones last year.

McKinnon also admires the work of fellow designers during the Winter Olympics, but admits seeing her own designs on ice hits differently.

“When the skater is wearing something that I have created for them, and it just hits all the notes and it just gels together with their looks, their performance, their skating, the music, the choreography,” McKinnon said. “That’s when it just feels really amazing.”

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The post From sketches to sequins: How Olympic skating costumes are made appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

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By Karin Caifa

(CNN) – Before the sequins and the sparkle, there are sketches, hand stitches, a design niche and even rules of the sport to consider when making a skating costume.

Los Angeles-based designer Lisa McKinnon, who started skating at age 4, began making her own costumes when she was 12. Her craftsmanship caught the eye other skaters.

“Other people noticed and they started asking me to make them things too,” she says. “I was only about 15 or 16 when I was making actual competition costumes for the national champion in Sweden.”

For the 2026 Olympic games in Italy, McKinnon designed costumes for U.S. figure skaters Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito.

“The figure skating community is actually quite small in a way,” McKinnon says. “When you’re making costumes like myself, a lot of it is word of mouth. They ask, ‘Oh wait, hey, where did you get that from? Who made that for you?’ That’s how it started for me.”

McKinnon’s process includes detailed production and collaboration with skaters to ensure the creation adheres to the International Skating Union’s regulations for the costumes. For example, no part of the costume can fall on the ice or the skater will be penalized in their score.

McKinnon says working with Glenn included conversations with her and her choreographers. However, when creating Levito’s costume, “it’s also a very open process, and that one was like totally just what I was feeling when I was listening to the music and also what I think she would look good in.”

Naomi Brunson, of Springfield, Virginia, has always dreamed of designing ice skating costumes, and is inspired by McKinnon’s work and others who make skating costumes.

“There’s so many talented designers out there, and a lot of respect between designers,” she says. “They have this amazing gift, and Lisa McKinnon … is just spectacular, so it’s fun to see.”

Bruson is new to crafting skating costumes and has worked with junior and senior level skaters and a couple of nth U.S. National Team.

The work takes time. Brunson says she takes about 10 hours for research, which includes conversations about a skater’s music and choreography, sketches, material selection, and fittings. Building the costume can take anywhere from 10 to 40 hours. Brunson even makes her own lace and estimates that she hand-placed more than 120,000 rhinestones last year.

McKinnon also admires the work of fellow designers during the Winter Olympics, but admits seeing her own designs on ice hits differently.

“When the skater is wearing something that I have created for them, and it just hits all the notes and it just gels together with their looks, their performance, their skating, the music, the choreography,” McKinnon said. “That’s when it just feels really amazing.”

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™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

T

CNN

By Martin Goillandeau and Chris Boyette, CNN

(CNN) — Eight of nine skiers buried near California’s Lake Tahoe amid heavy snow and “extreme weather conditions” in the deadliest avalanche in the state’s recorded history have died, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

One is still missing and presumed dead, Sheriff Shannan Moon said.

Six skiers participating in the three‑day backcountry trip in northern California’s Sierra Nevada mountains were previously rescued with “various injuries,” the sheriff’s office said, and were taken to a hospital for treatment. One was released Tuesday night, Capt. Rusty Greene said, and the other is expected to be released Wednesday.

“We did have conversation with the families of the folks that are that are still outstanding and let them know that our mission has went from a rescue to a recovery,” Moon said.

Of the nine skiers who were not rescued, seven are female and two are male, the sheriff’s office said. Their names were not released.

“It’s a difficult conversation to have with loved ones,” she said. “I can’t even imagine the amount of questions and stress that those families are going through right now.”

Three-day backcountry trip

The skiers, who are from multiple states, were on the final stretch of the trip and were returning to the trailhead Tuesday morning when a wave of ice, rocks and debris came crashing down on them.

The avalanche spanned about a football field’s length of the mountain, according to Chris Feutrier, USDA forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest.

The avalanche struck, he said, when “a persistent weak layer had a large load of snow over the top of it. That persistent weak layer is still there and has reloaded with another three feet of snow – so the hazard remains high.”

Some of the survivors, who are four men and two women, said they were trying to go out as a group when someone saw the deluge of snow and yelled, “avalanche,” Greene said.

In the avalanche’s wake, survivors – one of whom was one of the guides, Moon said – were left scrambling to try to find the rest of their group and to improvise shelter as they awaited rescue.

The disaster at Castle Peak set off a dangerous, hourslong rescue effort hampered by heavy snow and strong winds from the winter storm roaring through the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains.

Emergency crews received reports of the avalanche around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and about 50 rescuers were deployed, Moon said.

The sheriff described the rescuers as “skilled” but working through “extreme weather conditions” including snow and gale force winds, making for low visibility.

Eleven hours later, six survivors had been rescued with “various injuries,” according to the sheriff’s office, noting two had to be transported to the hospital for treatment and nine were reported to be missing.

“Eight of the nine additional skiers have been located deceased. We are still looking for one of the members at this time. Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains o

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — The 18-year-old accused of running up to the US Capitol with a loaded shotgun on Tuesday told officers he wanted to talk to a member of Congress, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

The man from Georgia, Carter Camacho, made his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday on a charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm on US Capitol grounds. Camacho did not enter a plea and will remain behind bars while awaiting a detention hearing in early March.

The defendant appeared in court wearing the same military fatigues he was arrested in on Tuesday, when prosecutors say a Capitol Police officer saw the shotgun he was carrying and ordered him to drop the weapon and get down on the ground.

The criminal complaint against Camacho does not shed light on his direct intentions but says that when asked by Capitol Police, he said “he was just there to talk to a Member of Congress.”

Prosecutors say images included in the court documents show Camacho running up to the Capitol with the shotgun in both hands before being stopped by Capitol Police.

According to the complaint, as Camacho approached the Capitol, an officer asked him what he was carrying. Camacho held up the shotgun in his right hand. He was then ordered to lie on the ground and “immediately complied,” the complaint says.

“The shotgun was loaded with seven rounds in the tube and one in the chamber,” the complaint states, noting that “the safety was off” and “an additional 17 rounds of ammunition were located in a carrier attached to the stock of the shotgun.”

Camacho was not on Capitol Police’s radar before they encountered him on the steps of the Capitol, the law enforcement agency said.

In addition to the apparent body armor he was wearing, a gas mask and Kevlar helmet were found in the car he drove and parked nearby, according to Capitol Police. A fixed-blade knife was also located 40 feet from the car and in the path Camacho took to the Capitol, they said.

The 18-year-old said in court that he will be in his second semester in college. Sporting a narrow beard, Camacho sat rigid during the hearing, nodding along as the federal judge informed him of his rights, answering “OK” and “yes, your honor” when asked if he understood.

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By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — There’s a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots in the United States, and economists are increasingly sounding the alarm. Income inequality has expanded in a short timeframe, and various economic indicators – including rising delinquency rates – are flashing a warning sign.

The “K-shaped” economic recovery may be working for some Americans, but not all.

Despite solid economic growth, booming stock values, cooling inflation and a stable unemployment rate, the economic gains have been uneven.

What spur of the “K” do you feel like you’re on, and do you see that changing as this year progresses?

As you reflect on how you’re navigating this economy, how do you anticipate your household financial situation will fare in 2026 and beyond? If you’d be willing to share your experience with a CNN reporter for possible inclusion in an upcoming story, we’d like to hear from you.

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The post Where do you land in the K-shaped economy? Do you think that will change in 2026? appeared first on News Channel 3-12.