Government and politics
FILE - A passenger waits in the holding area in front of a member of airport personnel wearing protective gear at the Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Jan. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Media in Beijing's Olympics bubble enter surreal experience

3 hrs ago

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping tours the National Speed Skating Oval, a competition venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Competition for the Winter Olympics is scheduled to begin on Feb. 4. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
China spends billions on Olympics with longer-term goal

By Graham Dunbar 5 hrs ago

A man wearing a hat baring an American flag and face mask to help protect from the coronavirus walks by a masked security guard near lanterns decoration on the remnants of a city wall in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. China is demanding the U.S. end “interference” in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin next month, in an apparent reference to a diplomatic boycott imposed by Washington and its allies. The Foreign Ministry said Minister Wang Yi made the demand in a phone call with U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday Beijing time. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
China demands US halt Olympics 'interference'

7 hrs ago

FILE - A woman holds up a ligt candle and a phone showing the image of the 1989 tank man protester during a candle vigil to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Friday, June 4, 2021. As Beijing prepares to hold the Winter Olympics opening in February 2022, China's president and party leader Xi Jinping appears firmly in control. The party has made political stability paramount and says that has been the foundation for the economic growth that has bettered lives and put the nation on a path to becoming a regional if not global power. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
From Tiananmen to Hong Kong, China's crackdowns defy critics

By Ken Moritsugu 9 hrs ago

Residents wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus gather in line as they wait for a throat swab at a COVID-19 test site outside a residential housing block in Fengtai District in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. The Chinese capital reported an uptick more than dozen daily new COVID-19 cases as it began a third round of mass testing of millions of people Wednesday in the run-up to the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
China's Olympics COVID measures test residents' patience

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 26, 2022 12:51 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

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Putin backs China over 'politicization' of Beijing Olympics

Jan. 25, 2022 07:07 AM EST

FILE - Fireworks explode over Beijing's Tiananmen Square to help mark the closing of the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing on Aug. 24, 2008. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics open in just over a week. When Beijing held the Summer Olympics in 2008 the International Olympic Committee predicted they could improve human rights, and Chinese politicians hinted at the same. There are no soaring promises this time. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
China less worried about global criticism these Olympics

By Stephen Wade Jan. 25, 2022 12:29 AM EST

Volunteers help women enter information on their smartphones as others gather in line for mass coronavirus testing in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. Chinese authorities have lifted a monthlong lockdown of Xi'an and its 13 million residents as infections subside ahead of the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, the 2 million residents of one Beijing district are being tested following a series of cases in the capital. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
China tests 2M in Beijing, lifts COVID lockdown in Xi’an

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 24, 2022 12:31 AM EST

Kiana Kryeziu trains at the Arxhena Ski center in Dragas, Kosovo on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. The 17-year-old Kryeziu is the first female athlete from Kosovo at the Olympic Winter Games after she met the required standards, with the last races held in Italy. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Olympic dreams come true for Kosovo skier Kiana Kryeziu

By Florent Bajrami And Llazar Semini Jan. 23, 2022 10:01 PM EST

Family members wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus tour Qianmen Street, a popular tourist spot in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Chinese authorities have called on the public to stay where they are during the Lunar New Year instead of traveling to their hometowns for the year's most important family holiday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing district orders mass virus testing ahead of Olympics

Jan. 23, 2022 06:19 AM EST

A man poses for a selfie near the Olympic logo at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. The venue will host the opening and closing ceremonies during the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
CAS judges 'lacked anti-doping expertise' at Tokyo Olympics

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 21, 2022 06:31 AM EST

Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas is shown during the playing of the national anthem before a swim meet, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, in Philadelphia. The NCAA has adopted a sport-by-sport approach for transgender athletes, bringing the organization in line with the U.S. and International Olympic Committees. NCAA rules on transgender athletes returned to the forefront when Penn swimmer Lia Thomas started smashing records this year.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Penn pledges to work with NCAA, support transgender swimmer

Jan. 20, 2022 08:54 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. ...

A man gets a throat swab for the COVID-19 test at a mobile coronavirus testing facility a residential area in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. With just over two weeks before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, residents of the Chinese capital say they’re disappointed at not being able to attend events because of coronavirus restrictions that have seen parts of the city placed under lockdown. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing residents disappointed Olympics will be closed event

Jan. 19, 2022 04:12 AM EST

A woman looks at her phone as she passes an Olympic logo inside the main media center for the Beijing Winter Olympics Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Report: Chinese Olympic app has serious security flaws

By Alan Suderman Jan. 18, 2022 02:18 PM EST

Student activists wear masks with the colors of the pro-independence East Turkistan flag during a rally to protest the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, outside the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. Dozens of students staged the rally demanding the cancellation of the Beijing Olympics over alleged human rights violations against Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in China's region of Xinjiang. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 18, 2022 11:56 AM EST

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) hooks a shot over Portland Trail Blazers' Jim Brewer (52) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on March 12, 1980. Abdul-Jabbar wins his sixth MVP award after claiming five in the 1970s. He averaged 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
Timeline of NBA in 1980s as league celebrates 75th season

By The Associated Press Jan. 17, 2022 10:45 AM EST

A woman wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19 stands next to figures of the Winter Paralympic mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon left, and Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen on a pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. As the Beijing Winter Olympics loom, the Chinese capital is stepping measures to keep the coronavirus at bay including suspending most access to Tianjin, an adjacent major city which is dealing with an outbreak of the highly contagious omicron variant. These outbreaks are posing a test to its "zero-tolerance" COVID-19 policy and its ability to successfully host the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Beijing to offer Olympic tickets to 'selected' spectators

Jan. 17, 2022 09:09 AM EST

A medical worker wearing a protective suit swabs a child for a coronavirus test in Huaxian County in central China's Henan Province, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. China further tightened its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country on Friday as scattered outbreaks continued ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in a little over two weeks. (Chinatopix via AP)
Anti-coronavirus measures tightened across China

Jan. 14, 2022 04:28 AM EST