United States government
FILE - Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner during the first half of Game 2 of basketball's WNBA Finals against the Chicago Sky, Oct. 13, 2021, in Phoenix. Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the WNBA star’s case is tangled up with that of another prisoner few Americans have ever heard of. Paul Whelan has been held in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage charges he and the U.S. government say are false. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
Chicago Sky at Phoenix Mercury 10/13/2021

Jun. 11, 2022 08:04 PM EDT

Ben Loomis, of the United States, soars through the air during a trial round in the ski jump portion of the individual Gundersen normal hill event at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Some US Olympians enlist in order to make it to the Games

By Larry Lage Feb. 11, 2022 03:04 AM EST

FILE - North Korea's Hwang Chung Gum and South Korea's Won Yun-jong carry the unification flag during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb. 9, 2018. North Korea basked in the global limelight during the last Winter Games in South Korea, with hundreds of athletes, cheerleaders and officials pushing hard to woo their South Korean and U.S. rivals in a now-stalled bid for diplomacy. Four years later, as the 2022 Winter Olympics come to its main ally and neighbor China, North Korea isn't sending any athletes and officials because of coronavirus fears. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
'Someone else's festival': No North Korea at ally's Olympics

By Hyung-Jin Kim And Kim Tong-Hyung Feb. 04, 2022 11:29 PM EST

United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland speaks during a press conference at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Nearly 80% of US Olympians signed up for opening ceremony

By Eddie Pells Feb. 04, 2022 03:11 AM EST

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'

Jan. 27, 2022 01:50 AM EST

Elana Meyers Taylor from USA takes first place at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022 . (Caroline Seidel/dpa via AP)
USA Bobsled reveals 12-person team for Beijing Olympics

By Tim Reynolds Jan. 17, 2022 03:48 AM EST

FILE - Poland's Sports Minister Witold Banka speaks during an interview in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, March 18, 2019. The U.S. government paid its remaining $1.3 million in dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency but delivered a brusque message along with the check. A government official called its absence from the regulator’s decision-making boards a “sorry state of affairs.” WADA president Witold Banka called the release of the funds a sign of support from the U.S. government. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)
US check to WADA comes with memo: 'Sorry state of affairs'

By Eddie Pells Jan. 06, 2022 02:28 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, exile Tibetans use the Olympic Rings as a prop as they hold a street protest against the holding of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in Dharmsala, India. A global trade union body has joined a long list human-rights advocates in challenging the propriety of China holding the 2022 Winter Olympics, and has singled out the International Olympic Committee for acquiescing in the face of alleged genocide and crimes against humanity reportedly taking place China. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, File)
Beijing Olympics get 'gold for repression' in labor report

By Stephen Wade Nov. 09, 2021 12:16 AM EST

Russia's Liudmila Samsonova celebrates after winning a point against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic during their Billie Jean King Cup final tennis match in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Russia beats Switzerland 2-0 to win Billie Jean King Cup

By Karel Janicek Nov. 06, 2021 01:03 PM EDT

United States Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. Nassar was charged in 2016 with federal child pornography offenses and sexual abuse charges in Michigan. He is now serving decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
Biles: FBI turned 'blind eye' to reports of gymnasts' abuse

By Mary Clare Jalonick, Will Graves And Michael Balsamo Sep. 15, 2021 12:48 PM EDT

FILE - In this file photo dated Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, First Vice President of the International Swimming Federation, FINA, Husain Al Musallam, during the FINA World Aquatics Gala in Budapest, Hungary. Documents obtained by The Associated Press show two senior Olympic officials from Kuwait have been targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice for suspected racketeering and bribery related to FIFA and international soccer politics. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah is reputed to be the “kingmaker” of IOC elections. Husain al-Musallam is president of swimming’s international governing body. The documents include details of the DOJ investigation and a formal request to Kuwaiti authorities in 2017 for help to secure evidence. (Attila Kovacs/MTI via AP, File)
Documents show US investigation of 2 Kuwaitis in FIFA case

By Graham Dunbar Sep. 02, 2021 11:43 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 20, 2021, file photo, Jon Rahm, of Spain, waves after his putt on the first green during the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. Rahm has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in two months and the Spaniard has been knocked out of the Olympics only a few hours after American golfer Bryson DeChambeau met the same fate. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
Rahm watching Olympics from home and still doesn't know why

By Doug Ferguson Jul. 29, 2021 12:36 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, exile Tibetans use the Olympic rings as a prop as they hold a protest against the holding of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, in Dharmsala, India. Facing the boycott-threatened Beijing Winter Olympics in just over six months, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday, July 28, that its only responsibility was to “deliver the Games" and not to monitor human rights. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, File)
IOC sponsors facing heat over Beijing Olympics, human rights

By Stephen Wade Jul. 28, 2021 05:40 AM EDT

Canada's goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, left, and Canada's Quinn, center, celebrate at the end of women's soccer match against Chile at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Sapporo, Japan. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
First openly transgender Olympians are competing in Tokyo

By Anne M. Peterson Jul. 26, 2021 03:54 AM EDT

An Olympic flag flies over the top of the bleachers at Ariake Tennis Center, Monday, July 19, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
Seeking reform, US holds $1.3 million in dues from WADA

By Eddie Pells Jul. 21, 2021 08:04 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2018, file photo, Larry Nassar listens during his sentencing at Eaton County Circuit Court in Charlotte, Mich. (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP, File)
Watchdog: FBI mishandled Nassar-USA Gymnastics abuse case

By Michael Balsamo And Eric Tucker Jul. 14, 2021 05:50 PM EDT

Sha'Carri Richardson waves after winning the women's 100-meter run at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
In letter, USADA says it can't change marijuana rules alone

By Eddie Pells Jul. 09, 2021 12:56 PM EDT

USA Boxing team member Naomi Graham, right, spars with head coach Billy Walsh during a media day for the team in a gym located in a converted Macy's Department store in Colorado Springs, Colo., Monday, June 7, 2021. Naomi Graham feels no extra pressure in taking up Claressa Shields’ mantle at 75 kilograms in Tokyo. Six years older than Shields, she's a relative newcomer to high-level boxing, only picking it up a decade ago and fighting her way to Olympic contention while also serving in the Army as an ammunition specialist. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Army boxer Naomi Graham fights her way to Olympics for US

By Greg Beacham Jul. 06, 2021 05:24 PM EDT

FILE - This June 8, 2021, file photo shows the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, FIle)
High court rejects New Hampshire-Massachusetts tax dispute

Jun. 28, 2021 02:33 PM EDT

The Celebrity Edge is moored at Port Everglades, Saturday, June 26, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Celebrity Edge is the first cruise ship to leave a U.S. port since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a 15-month standstill. The seven-night cruise will have 40 percent capacity and with virtually all passengers vaccinated against COVID-19.(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Disney delays test cruise over 'inconsistent' virus results

Jun. 28, 2021 02:16 PM EDT