In figure skating, the quadruple axel is generally considered the most difficult jump. Until 2022, when US skater Ilia Malinin—currently riding high as the “Quad God” at the 2026 Winter Olympics—started doing them, they seemed impossible. Landing one, naturally, can give an athlete a higher score. But for skaters who aren’t generational talents like Malinin, grasping exactly how to pull off a quadruple axel can be tricky. But physics can offer some clues.

In 2024, the journal Sports Biomechanics published a study by Toin University researcher Seiji Hirosawa that brought science a little closer to understanding how quad axels work. One of the biggest factors? Getting high. Like 20 inches off the ground high.

In the current scoring system of figure skating competitions, the jury, which in the case of the Milano Cortina Games consists of two technical specialists and a technical controller, assigns a score to each technical element, namely jumps, spins, and steps. However, the scores for the more difficult jumps, such as triple or quadruple jumps, are higher than those for the other technical elements, so skaters must perform them correctly in order to win competitions.

Generally speaking the axel is the most technically complex of the jumps. There are three main types, each distinguished by their takeoffs: toe, blade, or edge. Most are named after the first person to do them; the axel is named after Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen. It is also the only one that involves a forward start, which leads the athlete to perform a half-turn more than other jumps. A simple axel, therefore, requires one and a half rotations to complete, while a quadruple axel requires four and a half rotations in the air.

To shed light on the specific kinematic strategies used by athletes to perform the quadruple axel jump, Hirosawa’s study focused on footage of two skaters who attempted this jump in competition. Using data from what’s known as the Ice Scope tracking system, researchers analyzed several parameters: vertical height, horizontal distance, and skating speed before takeoff and after landing.

Contrary to previous biomechanical studies, which suggested that jump height does not change significantly, Hirosawa’s study found that increasing jump height is crucial to successfully performing a quadruple axel jump. Both skaters, in fact, aimed to achieve significantly greater vertical heights in their attempts to perform this jump than in the triple axel.

“This suggests a strategic shift toward increasing vertical height to master 4A [quadruple axel] jumps, in contrast to previous biomechanical research that did not emphasize vertical height,” the study concluded.

Increased jump height, Hirosawa adds, provides increased flight time by allowing a large number of rotations around the longitudinal axis of the body. Short version: jump higher, turn more. “The results of this study provide valuable insights into the biomechanics of quadruple and triple axel jumps, update existing theories of figure skating research, and provide insights into training strategies for managing complex jumps,” the study concludes.

Easier said than done—unless you’re Ilia Malinin.

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By early October, the ICE surge team was working through the government shutdown, even as other critical government work was put on hold. Days after the shutdown began, GSA was still awarding leases. On October 6, 2025, a signed internal memorandum stated that GSA should “approve of all new lease housing determinations associated with ICE hiring surge,” in light of ICE’s “urgent” space requirements and the purported impact of delays on the agency’s ability to “meet critical immigration enforcement deadlines.”

On October 9, the same day that Trump announced in a cabinet meeting that the government would be making “permanent” cuts from “Democrat programs” during the shutdown, GSA received a list from OPLA with requests for office locations, including expansions and new leases, in 41 cities around the country.

In a memorandum dated October 29, 2025, a representative from Homeland Security Investigations—one of the two major departments within ICE, along with ERO, and tasked with a wide range of investigative work in cases ranging from human trafficking to art theft—asked GSA’s office of general counsel to engage in nationwide lease acquisition on behalf of DHS “using the unusual and compelling urgency justification,” in accordance with Trump’s executive immigration order.

“If HSI cannot effectively obtain office space in a timely manner, HSI will be adversely impacted in accomplishing its mission—a mission that is inextricably tied to the Administration’s priority in protecting the American People Against Invasion,” the memorandum states.

By early November, according to documents viewed by WIRED, 19 projects had been awarded in cities around the US, including Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; Sacramento, California; and Tampa, Florida. Multiple projects were days away from being awarded in Miami, Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and New Orleans, Louisiana, among others, and emergency requests for short-term space had been made in eight cities, including Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; and Newark, New Jersey.

In documents viewed by WIRED, ICE has repeatedly outlined its expansion to cities around the US. The September memorandum citing “unusual and compelling urgency” for office expansion states that OPLA will be “expanding its legal operations” into Birmingham, Alabama; Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, and Tampa, Florida; Des Moines, Iowa; Boise, Idaho; Louisville, Kentucky; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Grand Rapids, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; Raleigh, North Carolina; Long Island, New York; Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Richmond, Virginia; Spokane, Washington and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The memorandum also states that the existing offices are at maximum capacity and will “require additional space” to accommodate the new employees hired. At the time, the memo states that OPLA had selected almost 1,000 attorneys to hire.

Months after the “surge” began, ICE’s expansion to American cities is well underway, according to documentation viewed by WIRED. The table below gives a detailed listing of planned ICE lease locations as of January, and includes current ICE offices that are set to expand and new spaces the agency is poised to occupy. It does not include more than 100 planned ICE locations across many states—including California, New York, and New Jersey—where WIRED has not viewed every specific address.