Religion
The president of Iran's national Olympic committee (NOC) Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa answers a reporter's question during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Khosravi Vafa claimed that competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi will not be punished or suspended after competing in South Korea over the weekend without wearing her nation’s mandatory headscarf. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Iran's Olympic chief claims no punishment coming for climber

By Kim Tong-Hyung Oct. 20, 2022 08:43 AM EDT

Pope Francis, arrives in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican for his weekly general audience, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Vatican cyclist spreading the pope's message at worlds

By Andrew Dampf Sep. 23, 2022 08:50 AM EDT

Britain's Gus Kenworthy falls during the men's halfpipe finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. When the three-time Olympian took the remarkable, perhaps even brave decision to speak out against “human rights atrocities” while still in China at the Winter Games, the self-proclaimed "loud and obnoxious” British skier also proved that other athletes, had they chosen, perhaps could have used their Olympic platform to pipe up, too. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Human rights? China won that Winter Olympics battle. Almost.

By John Leicester Feb. 20, 2022 09:55 PM EST

A security guard looks at his phone in the lobby area of the Tibet Hotel at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
BEIJING DIARY: A taste of Tibet with Chinese characteristics

By Kelvin Chan Feb. 11, 2022 07:52 PM EST

Christopher Grotheer, of Germany, finishes the men's skeleton run 4 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Olympics Live: IOC won't act on 'No War in Ukraine' sign

Feb. 10, 2022 08:29 PM EST

Fatih Arda Ipcioglu, of Turkey, soars through the air during the men's normal hill individual ski jumping qualification round at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Turkish ski jumper İpcioğlu mum on Uyghur statement

Feb. 06, 2022 07:59 AM EST

The Chinese and Olympic flags fly during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In Beijing, Olympic ideals coexist with authoritarian rule

By Tim Sullivan Feb. 04, 2022 11:17 PM EST

Exile Tibetans burn a Chinese flag during a protest against Beijing Winter Olympic Games in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Hundreds of Tibetan exiles are marching outside the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, denouncing the Beijing Winter Olympics and demanding freedom for their region. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Tibetans in India demonstrate against Beijing Olympics

By Shonal Ganguly Feb. 04, 2022 02:46 AM EST

FILE - A 1988 photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency shows Communist Party Leader Xi Jinping, right, then secretary of the Ningde Prefecture Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), participates in farm work during his investigation in the countryside. Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi enjoyed a privileged youth as the second son of Xi Zhongxun, a former vice premier and guerrilla commander in the civil war that brought Mao Zedong's communist rebels to power in 1949. At 15, Xi Jinping was sent to rural Shaanxi province in 1969 as part of Mao's campaign to have educated urban young people learn from peasants. (AP Photo/Xinhua, File)
President Xi Jinping, China's 'chairman of everything'

By Joe Mcdonald Feb. 02, 2022 08:22 PM EST

Pope Francis, center, flanked by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, left, and Monsignor Guido Marini, blesses the attendance at the end his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 02, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope hails Paralympians, refugee athletes in Olympic message

Feb. 02, 2022 08:21 AM EST

FILE - Chinese authorities test fireworks ahead of the Aug 8 start of the Olympic Games on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, Saturday, Aug 2, 2008. Richer, more heavily armed and openly confrontational, China has undergone history-making change since the last time it was an Olympic host in 2008. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
China 2008 vs 2022: Richer, stronger, more confrontational

By Joe Mcdonald Jan. 25, 2022 11:08 PM EST

France moves closer to banning veils in sports competitions

By Samuel Petrequin Jan. 19, 2022 05:31 AM EST
The French Senate has voted in favor of banning the wearing of headscarves in sports competitions, arguing that neutrality is a requirement on the field of play. ...

FILE - Kayla Harrison is shown during a PFL (Professional Fighters League) bout against Larissa Pacheco at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., in this Thursday, May 9, 2019, file photo. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison tries for another $1 million prize when she fights Taylor Guardado in the main event of the 2021 PFL Championships this week in Florida. (AP Photo/Greg Payan, File)
Harrison, now a mother of 2, fights for $1M PFL championship

By Dan Gelston Oct. 25, 2021 10:36 AM EDT

Residents wearing masks pass by a countdown clock for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games at the Wangfujing retail street in Beijing Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. When the International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the 2008 Summer Olympics, it said the Games would improve human rights and civil liberties in China. There is no such lofty talk this time with Beijing's 2022 Olympics - the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games - opening in just four months on Feb. 4. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Beijing Olympics open in 4 months; human rights talk absent

By Stephen Wade Oct. 04, 2021 11:14 AM EDT

Artem Dolgopyat of Israel, poses after winning the gold medal after the floor exercise during the artistic gymnastics men's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Olympian Dolgopyat arrives home to hero's welcome in Israel

By Laurie Kellman Aug. 03, 2021 07:31 AM EDT

Artem Dolgopyat of Israel, left, celebrates after winning the gold medal on the floor exercise during the artistic gymnastics men's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Israel's Olympic gold victory raises Jewish identity debate

By Ilan Ben Zion Aug. 02, 2021 02:52 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2021, file photo, the logos for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics are seen during an exhibit at a visitors center at the Winter Olympic venues in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing. China on Thursday, July 8, 2021, criticized what it called the “politicization of sports” after British lawmakers urged a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics unless China allows an investigation of complaints of human rights abuses in its northwest.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
China slams Olympic boycott call, 'politicization of sports'

Jul. 08, 2021 09:12 AM EDT

Museum annex project delayed by pandemic-related costs

Jun. 28, 2021 02:00 PM EDT
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) — A major construction plan at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury has been postponed due to pandemic-related pricing and labor and...

Shravan Chinnala cleans the Peetam, a silver pedestal for the image of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, in preparation for Maha Kumbhabhishekam, a five-day rededication ceremony at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Penn Hills, Pa., Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Built in the 1970s, the Sri Venkateswara Temple is the oldest major Hindu temple in the country. Maha Kumbhabhishekams occur about every 12 years and involve ceremonies to reenergize the temple and its deities. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
At landmark US Hindu temple, a timely rite of rejuvenation

By Peter Smith Jun. 28, 2021 12:25 PM EDT

People in Amish country prepare a horse team to work on a farm in Pulaski, Pa., Wednesday, June 23, 2021. The vaccination drive is lagging far behind in many Amish communities across the U.S. following a wave of virus outbreaks that swept through their churches and homes during the past year. ​(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Amish put faith in God's will and herd immunity over vaccine

By John Seewer Jun. 28, 2021 11:21 AM EDT