Natural disasters
An aircraft drops water during a wildfire in ancient Olympia, western Greece, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Greece evacuated people in boats from an island beach Wednesday amid heavy smoke from a nearby wildfire and fire crews fight elsewhere to keep flames away from the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games as the country sweltered under a record heat wave. (Giannis Spyrounis/ilialive.gr via AP)
Resurgent wildfires in Greece burn homes, threaten monuments

By Derek Gatopoulos And Elena Becatoros Aug. 05, 2021 05:11 AM EDT

Olympic volunteer Atsushi Muramatsu poses for a photo in front of Sekisui Heim Super Arena, which was used as a morgue after the 2011 earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, in Rifu, Japan, Thursday, July 29, 2021. The arena is situated next to Miyagi Stadium, which is used for soccer matches during the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he is serving as a volunteer. Muramatsu has made business-card size flyers to express gratitude for support from overseas. He plans to hand them out to foreign media. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka)
Olympic volunteers strive to share stories of 3/11 disaster

By Chisato Tanaka Aug. 01, 2021 11:31 PM EDT

An Olympic worker is silhouetted against clouds at the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium ahead of a baseball game between Japan and the Dominican Republic at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Fukushima, Japan. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Fukushima laments a recovery without Olympic witnesses

By Jake Seiner Jul. 30, 2021 01:43 AM EDT

Russian Olympic Committee's artistic gymnastics women's team, Liliia Akhaimova, Viktoriia Listunova, Angelina Melnikova and Vladislava Urazova listen to music from a Russian composer during the medal ceremony after receiving theirs gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
GLIMPSES: Medalists' bouquets hold deeper meaning for Japan

By Stephen Wade Jul. 29, 2021 02:01 AM EDT

People make their way in a rain affected by a tropical storm in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, northeast of Tokyo Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Nepartak, the season's eighth typhoon for Japan, brought strong winds and heavy rain to Japan's northern coast Wednesday after moving away from the Tokyo region and relieving the Olympic host city of a feared disruption to the games. (Kyodo News via AP)
Tropical storm dumps rain on northern Japan, spares Olympics

By Chisato Tanaka Jul. 27, 2021 09:53 PM EDT

Rainwater covers a window after a rain storm at a field hockey match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tropical storm to bring rain, wind, waves to northeast Japan

Jul. 27, 2021 01:01 AM EDT

Brazil's Italo Ferreira maneuvers on a wave during the quarterfinals of the men's surfing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
GLIMPSES: At Olympic beaches, surf's definitely up

The Associated Press Jul. 27, 2021 12:08 AM EDT

A venue official takes a look at the BMX Freestyle course after a training session was cancelled due to rain, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
GLIMPSES: As rain arrives and typhoon nears, Olympics endure

By The Associated Press Jul. 26, 2021 09:17 PM EDT

Supporters use fans to beat the heat at the men's cross country mountain biking at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Izu, Japan. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Pandemic Olympics endured heat, and now a typhoon's en route

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 26, 2021 05:14 AM EDT

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, waves his cap after winning the Masters golf tournament on Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Japan's champion: Matsuyama wins the Masters for his nation

By Tim Reynolds Apr. 12, 2021 02:30 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007 file photo, France's Julie Pomagalski speeds down the Parallel Giant Slalom at the FIS Snowboard World Championship in Arosa, Switzerland. Two-time Olympic snowboarder Julie Pomagalski of France has died in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps. She was 40. Pomagalski competed in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2006 Turin Olympics, and in 1999 won gold in the snowboard cross at the world championships. The French Ski Federation announced that Pomagalski died Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella, File)
Olympic snowboarder Julie Pomagalski dies in avalanche at 40

Mar. 24, 2021 06:58 AM EDT

Two women take a selfie with the Olympic rings in the background in the Odaiba section of Tokyo, Thursday, March 12, 2020. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike spoke Thursday after the World Health Organization labeled the spreading virus a "pandemic," a decision almost certain to affect the Tokyo Olympics. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Torch relay among final hurdles for postponed Tokyo Olympics

By Stephen Wade Mar. 10, 2021 01:46 AM EST

Noriyuki Suzuki, center, a volunteer who lost his 12-year-old daughter in a tsunami in 2011, tells his experience to a group of visitors in front of former Okawa Elementary School where 74 children from the elementary school lost their lives along with 10 teachers by the tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Suzuki will take part in the torch relay for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Olympic torch relay poignant for Japan tsunami victim's dad

By Haruka Nuga Mar. 09, 2021 10:15 PM EST

FILE - In this March 20, 2020, file photo, three-time Olympic gold medalists Tadahiro Nomura, right, and Saori Yoshida light the torch during Olympic Flame Arrival Ceremony at Japan Air Self-Defense Force Matsushima Base in Higashimatsushima in Miyagi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. The torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Olympics is to start in just over three months, and it faces the same questions as the Olympics about being held safely during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Tokyo Games relay opens in 100 days with 10,000 torchbearers

By Stephen Wade Dec. 15, 2020 03:25 AM EST

More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week,;
Record jobless claims but Dems, GOP divide over rescue bill

By Alan Fram And Andrew Taylor Apr. 02, 2020 04:49 PM EDT

In this March 26, 2020, photo, a utility worker repairs a power line in Cookeville, Tenn. People still reeling from the deadly twisters that hit the state on March 3 now have to confront life in the age of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Double strike: Tornado, virus push Tennesseans to the limit

By Adrian Sainz And Jonathan Mattise Apr. 02, 2020 04:37 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 24, 2020, file photo, the Olympic Flame burns during a ceremony in Fukushima City, Japan. The Olympic flame is going to be on display until the end of April in Japan's northeastern prefecture of Fukushima. Tokyo Olympic and prefecture officials held an official “handover ceremony”on Wednesday, April 1, at the J-Village National Training Center in Fukushima.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Olympic flame to stay a month in Fukushima; Next stop Tokyo?

Apr. 01, 2020 05:26 AM EDT