2014 Sochi Olympics

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The Disaster That Is My Sochi Hotel

Stacy St. Clair had quite the morning in Sochi

(Newser) - American journalists are turning to Twitter to moan about their Sochi hotel accommodations, and the complaints go well beyond there being no mints on the pillow. A sampling of the issues, per the Washington Post : no hotel lobby floor built yet; only one of 11 rooms booked five months ago...

Sochi Poisons 'Threatening' Stray Dogs

Man hired to cull dogs calls them 'biological trash'

(Newser) - Visitors to the winter Olympics in Sochi won't have to worry about stray dogs pestering them—because the city is killing them off with poison, Business Insider reports. Homeless dogs are a common feature throughout Russia, but now dog bodies are lying around Sochi and "don't appear...

Sochi Mayor: There Are No Gays Here

At least, 'I don't bloody know them'

(Newser) - There aren't any gay people in Sochi—or so its mayor claims ahead of the Winter Olympics. Anatoly Pakhomov told the BBC that being gay is "not accepted here in the Caucasus where we live. We do not have them in our city." Questioned further, he acknowledged...

US Evacuation Plans Not Looking Good in Sochi

Doing anything without Russian help will be hard

(Newser) - The US has sent two warships to the Black Sea and put planes on standby in Europe as it prepares to evacuate its Olympians from Sochi in the event of an attack. But officials fear their preparations might not be enough, reports NBC News , which describes the effort as "...

Norway's Curling Team Is Wearing This to Olympics

The crazy pants are back, and crazier

(Newser) - This may be the best ( or at least second-best ) Olympic photo so far: Norway's men's curling team, decked out in their fantastic new outfits. The team was a sensation at the Vancouver Olympics when members competed wearing boldly-colored, crazily-patterned golf pants instead of the standard black...

5 Olympic Teams Receive Threat Letters

But Olympic bosses say they're fake

(Newser) - More terror concerns are plaguing the Sochi Olympics following threatening letters sent to at least five teams—but authorities say they're a hoax. The letters, written in Russian, went to Olympic committees in Italy, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia, and Slovakia, Reuters reports. The letter to Hungary said "persons attending...

In One Sochi Men's Bathroom Stall, 2 Toilets

And the Twittersphere erupts!

(Newser) - They're the toilets seen 'round the world, in a photo taken and tweeted Monday night by the BBC's Moscow correspondent of the men's restroom in a Sochi Olympics venue. What it shows: one stall, two toilets. "Seeing double in the Gentlemen's Loo at the...

Why the Olympics Should End
 Why the 
 Olympics 
 Should End 
OPINION
Jan 21, 2014 10:17 AM CST

Why the Olympics Should End

Human costs now outweigh benefits: Charles Lane

(Newser) - The founding ideals of the modern Olympics were admirable: France's Pierre de Coubertin wanted to foster peace and understanding between nations. But things haven't worked out that way, and the Games have ultimately caused more harm than good, writes Charles Lane in the Washington Post : "What we...

Internet Heaps $187K on Broke Jamaican Bobsledders

Team is crowdfunding its Sochi trip

(Newser) - If you're a fan of Cool Runnings, consider this: You can help send this year's Jamaican bobsled team to the Olympics. The team qualified for the games for the first time since 2002 , but needs to raise tens of thousands of dollars to actually travel to Sochi. Fortunately,...

US Prepared to Evacuate Americans From Sochi

Air, naval assets will be on standby

(Newser) - As Russia hunts "black widow" bombers believed to be targeting the Sochi Olympics, an offer of help has arrived from the Pentagon. The US military says it is "conducting prudent planning and preparations" in case American support is needed to deal with militant threats and it will have...

Russia Hunting 'Black Widow' Terrorists Targeting Sochi

Wanted posters already up for one woman

(Newser) - Russian authorities believe that as many as four women intend to launch terror attacks targeting the Sochi Olympics, and that one might already be in or near the city, sources tell NBC News . Wanted posters are already up in Sochi for Ruzan Ibragimova, aka Ruzana, a 23-year-old woman described as...

Militants: We Have a 'Present' for Olympic Visitors

Threat sparks Sochi security fears

(Newser) - A chilling threat for visitors to next month's Sochi Olympics: Islamic militants say they have a "present" ready for those attending the Games in southern Russia. The threat was made in a video that surfaced yesterday, sparking serious security fears with the event less than three weeks away,...

Lolo Jones Makes US Olympic Bobsled Team

2 track stars complete the switch to Winter Games

(Newser) - Lolo Jones and fellow former track star Lauryn Williams are set to make history at the Sochi Olympics as the ninth and tenth Americans to compete in both Summer and Winter Olympics. The two women, who have five Summer Olympics between them, were named as members of the US Olympic...

Putin: Gays Will Be Fine, Stay Away From Kids
 Putin: 
 'Everybody 
 Is Invited 
 to Sochi' 
SOCHI OLYMPICS
Jan 19, 2014 8:07 AM CST

Putin: 'Everybody Is Invited to Sochi'

Says 'none of our guests will have any problems'

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin is again taking time out of his Herculean schedule to sit down with foreign media in advance of next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi, and used the opportunity to try to downplay Russia's anti-gay laws—sort of. "Everybody is invited to Sochi," he told...

Gay Protester in Russia Detained at Torch Relay

He unfurled a rainbow flag

(Newser) - A gay Russian protester was detained today for unfurling a rainbow flag during the Olympic torch relay as it passed through his hometown of Voronezh. Photos uploaded by his friends show Pavel Lebedev pulling out the flag and then being detained by Olympic security personnel, who wrestle him to the...

Putin: Gays Are Fine—If They Steer Clear of Kids

Russian president seeks to reassure, as best he can

(Newser) - He was apparently trying to be magnanimous toward gay people, but it didn't quite come out that way. Asked today about Russia's views toward homosexuals, Putin said those in his country should "feel calm and at ease," reports the Washington Post . And then he added, "...

IOC: Take 'We the People' Off US Goalie Mask

Constitution quote is 'propaganda,' Olympic bosses say

(Newser) - The goalie for the American women's hockey team has been told to remove a quote from the US Constitution from her helmet because it counts as "propaganda." The illustration of the document including the line "We the People" has been scrubbed from Jessie Vetter's helmet...

Athlete Gives Up Olympic Spot—to Twin Sister

Tracy Barnes says Lanny would have beat her if she wasn't sick

(Newser) - Tracy Barnes won a spot on the US Olympic biathlon team Sunday, but she's not taking it. She gave up her place so her twin sister, Lanny, could go instead. Lanny had been too sick to compete in all the selection races, but Tracy believes her sister had a...

In Huge Snub, No. 3 Skater Left Off US Olympic Team

Mirai Nagasu bumped for Ashley Wagner, who finished 4th

(Newser) - In an unprecedented snub, US Figure Skating has left the third place finisher at Saturday's US Figure Skating Championships off its Olympic roster—in favor of a fourth-place finisher who described her own performance as "embarrassing." Why? Because that fourth-place finisher was Ashley Wagner, winner of the...

6 Found Shot Dead in Cars in Southern Russia

Attacks investigated in counter-terror operation

(Newser) - A series of unexplained killings in southern Russia involving booby-trapped bombs has further heightened security fears ahead of next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi. Investigators were scrambling today to determine who had killed six men whose bodies were found yesterday in four cars abandoned in an area just north...

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