Social affairs
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 13 hrs ago

Annika Malacinski, left, and Alexa Brabec take part in a roller ski training session for the 2022 U.S. Olympic team for Nordic combined and ski jumping teams at Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y., Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Even before the U.S. teams were set for Beijing Games, 20-year-old Annika Malacinski knew she had no shot at competing in China because she is a woman. Nordic combined, which combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing, is the only Olympic sport without gender equity. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
It's men only in Nordic combined at the Olympics for now

By Larry Lage Jan. 23, 2022 10:51 AM EST

FILE - Adam Rippon of the United States reacts following his performance in the men's free figure skating final in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. Rippon, who came out publicly in October 2015, was the first openly gay athlete to represent the United States in Olympic competition. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Adam Rippon looks back at his role in 2018 Olympics

By Barry Wilner Jan. 22, 2022 03:12 AM EST

From left, Team Shuster's John Landsteiner, Matt Hamilton, coach Sean Beighton, Chris Plys and John Shuster pose with their gold medals after winning their match against Team Dropkin during the third night of finals at the U.S. Olympic Curling Team Trials at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. Team Shuster won the match and will represent Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Keeping curling cool goal for sport's chief in US after gold

By Eric Olson Jan. 21, 2022 02:10 PM EST

A student poses for a photo with the Olympic flame and torch during an event to display the Olympic torch and flame at the Beijing University of Posts and Communications in Beijing, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. China is limiting the torch relay for the Winter Olympic Games to just three days amid coronavirus worries, organizers said Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. The flame will be displayed only in enclosed venues that are deemed "safe and controllable," according to officials speaking at a news conference. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
China mandates 3-day Olympic torch relay amid virus concerns

Jan. 21, 2022 03:11 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

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 - Fireworks explode over the National Stadium during the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing on Aug. 8, 2008. Ai is one of China's most famous artists, and many regard him as one of the world's greatest living artists. Working with the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, he helped design the Bird's Nest stadium, the centerpiece of Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics. The stadium will also host the opening ceremony for Beijing's Winter Olympics on Feb. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
The AP Interview: Exiled artist Ai Weiwei on Beijing Games

By Stephen Wade Jan. 18, 2022 12:01 AM EST

Natalie Geisenberger of Germany speeds down the track during her first run of the Luge World Cup women race in Sigulda, Latvia, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Roman Koksarov)
German luge star Geisenberger says she's going to Olympics

By Tim Reynolds Jan. 17, 2022 01:44 PM EST

FILE - North Dakota defenseman Jake Sanderson plays against Penn State during an NCAA college hockey game on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. USA Hockey and Hockey Canada are eyeing several college players to play at the Olympics after the NHL decided not to participate in Beijing. North Dakota’s Jake Sanderson has already agreed to play for the U.S. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
Sanderson to play for US; college stars eye Olympic chance

By Stephen Whyno Jan. 11, 2022 12:33 PM EST

Germany to drop investigation into Olympic horse cruelty

Jan. 11, 2022 09:33 AM EST
POTSDAM, Germany (AP) — German prosecutors will drop an animal cruelty investigation into an athlete and a coach who were shown striking a horse during the Olympic...

Hairdressers wearing protected suits cut residents' hair at a residential block which has become under lockdown in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi province on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. A major Chinese city near Beijing has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown after a number of children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant. Elsewhere, millions of people are being confined to their homes in Xi'an and Yuzhou, two cities that are farther away but have larger outbreaks traced to the delta variant. (Chinatopix Via AP)
China locks down 3rd city, raising affected to 20 million

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 11, 2022 02:09 AM EST

FILE - Staff members rehearse a victory ceremony at the Beijing Medals Plaza of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China on Jan. 3, 2022. The Beijing Winter Olympics are fraught with potential hazards for major sponsors, who are trying to remain quiet about China's human rights record while protecting at least $1 billion they've paid to the IOC. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
IOC major sponsors mostly muted in runup to Beijing Olympics

By Stephen Wade Jan. 11, 2022 12:11 AM EST

FILE - Yasuhiro Yamashita, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, poses for photographers prior to a press conference Monday, June 28, 2021, in Tokyo, ahead of the opening of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on July 23. Japan announced Friday, Dec. 24, 2021, it won't send a delegation of ministers to represent the government at the Beijing Games but three Olympic officials will attend, a mixed response to a U.S.-led move to boycott the games to protest China's human rights conditions. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto, Kazuyuki Mori, the president of the Japan Paralympic Committee, and Yamashita will attend. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Japan won't send government delegation to Beijing Olympics

By Mari Yamaguchi Dec. 23, 2021 11:39 PM EST

FILE - Fireworks illuminate over National Stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo. Tokyo Olympic organizers on Wednesday, Dec. 22 say the cost of the Games is estimated to be $1.8 billion less than anticipated. Official estimates over the last year said the costs would be $15.4 billion, and organizers now say that number is estimated to be $13.6 billion. Officials said the reduction in costs was because there were no fans and therefore no labor costs. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, file)
Organizers say Tokyo Olympics cost $1.8B less than expected

By Stephen Wade Dec. 22, 2021 09:05 AM EST

FILE - Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, listens to a reporter's question during a press conference as Coe visited an athletics test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games at National Stadium in Tokyo, Sunday, May 9, 2021. With track and field adding another Diamond League event in China, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe addressed the human rights issues in the country during his state-of-the-sport talk Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)
Coe discusses adding meet in China in state-of-track talk

By Pat Graham Dec. 21, 2021 03:40 PM EST

FILE - Kai Owens, center, celebrates after finishing first in the finals, between Hannah Soar, left, who finished second, and Tess Johnson, who placed third, in the World Cup women's dual moguls skiing competition Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in Deer Valley, Utah. As an infant, she was abandoned at a town square in a province of China. Taken to an orphanage, she was adopted by a couple from Colorado at 16 months. Now 17, U.S. freestyle skier Kai Owens is on the verge of earning a spot in moguls for the Winter Games in Beijing. It's a return to China she's long thought about. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Adopted US moguls skier eyes return to China as Olympian

By Pat Graham Dec. 20, 2021 01:47 PM EST

Austrian leader: won't go to Beijing games, but no protest

Dec. 14, 2021 02:53 AM EST
BERLIN (AP) — Austria's leader says no high-ranking politicians from his country will attend the Beijing Winter Olympics, but he says that is entirely because of...