Brazil

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Lochte, US Swimmers Were in Gas Station Fight: Sources

'Robbery' of Ryan Lochte, teammates in Rio now coming under question

(Newser) - Even more controversial than Ryan Lochte's new hairstyle: the murky story of what happened with him and other US swimmers in Rio. Although Lochte says he was robbed at gunpoint in a taxi over the weekend with Olympic teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen, the story got...

Bullets, Explosion Mark Beginning of Rio Olympics

A man was shot and killed as crowds were leaving the opening ceremony

(Newser) - It's been an eventful first two days for the Rio Olympics, but probably not in the way organizers were hoping. Brazilian police say an officer shot and killed a 22-year-old man who was attacking people as they left Maracana stadium Friday following the opening ceremony, USA Today reports. According...

Boxer Blows Olympic Chances With Arrest in Rio
Boxer Blows Olympic Chances With Arrest in Rio
OLYMPICS
Aug 5, 2016 1:03 PM CDT

Boxer Blows Olympic Chances With Arrest in Rio

Morocco's Hassan Saada is accused of sexually assaulting 2 women

(Newser) - Morocco's Hassan Saada was set to square off in the boxing ring against a Turkish competitor at the Olympics on Saturday, but instead he'll be in a Rio jail. The 22-year-old athlete was arrested Friday morning at the Olympic Village on charges that he sexually assaulted two maids...

Report: 1K US Spies Helping Brazil Monitor Olympics

All 17 US intelligence agencies are reportedly involved

(Newser) - There may be more US spies than Zika-carrying mosquitoes in Rio over the next couple of weeks, per a "highly classified" intelligence report seen by NBC News . With the blessing of Brazil's government, some 1,000 espionage experts—about 350 of them onsite in Rio—are positioned and...

Olympian Racks Up $5K Bill Playing Pokemon in Brazil

Some athletes complained about game's absence

(Newser) - Olympians can now go for their Pokemon Go medals. The hit augmented-reality game, in which players roam around the real-life world to collect virtual monsters and medals, became available in Brazil late Wednesday. There had been much disappointment among those at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic games that they couldn'...

Team USA's Most-Decorated Athlete Will Be Its Flag-Bearer

Star swimmer will be Team USA's flag-bearer at Friday's opening ceremony

(Newser) - "King of the Olympic Rings" Michael Phelps already has more medals than any other athlete in history, Fox Sports notes. Now he's going to add a flag to the mix as Team USA's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Rio on Friday, the Olympic National Committee announced...

Pro Tip for Rio Travelers: 'Don't Put Your Head Underwater'

AP study finds waters in Olympic city are still dangerously contaminated

(Newser) - Just days ahead of the Olympic Games, Rio waterways are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by the AP . Not only are some 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill in water competitions,...

F1 Chief's Mother-in-Law Rescued From Kidnappers

She was found unharmed near Sao Paulo

(Newser) - Brazilian police said Sunday they rescued the kidnapped mother-in-law of Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone from two men on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. According to police, 67-year-old Aparecida Schunck, who had been held since Friday last week, was not harmed in the operation conducted by Sao Paulo's anti-kidnapping...

Kidnappers Demand $36.5M for Rich Guy's Mother-in-Law

Bernie Ecclestone faces paying a hefty ransom for wife's mom

(Newser) - Criminals hoping for a share of Bernie Ecclestone's fortune have reportedly kidnapped the racing billionaire's mother-in-law in Brazil. Local media say the criminals, in touch with the 85-year-old Formula One head, are demanding $36.5 million—the highest ransom ever in a Brazilian kidnapping, per the Telegraph . The...

Australia Team: Olympic Village Unfit for Habitation

The mayor says he'll give them a kangaroo

(Newser) - Australian athletes and coaching staff are in hotels instead of Rio's Olympic Village because the accommodations are in terrible shape, the head of the country's delegation says. Kitty Chiller says the problems include "blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed,...

Rio Olympics, Now Brought to You by Insect Repellent

And Zika virus, capitalism

(Newser) - Making marketing lemonade out of infectious disease lemons, the Olympics have partnered with an insect repellent for the first time ever, Bloomberg reports. More than 100,000 bottles of OFF!, a repellent "widely used" in Brazil, will be given to athletes, volunteers, and staff during next month's Olympics...

Rio's Newest Problem: 'Super Bacteria' in the Water

And a nasty oil slick in Guanabara Bay, right where sailors are set to compete

(Newser) - Rio de Janeiro has been plagued by body parts on beaches , muggings , and Zika fears ahead of the Summer Olympics, and now a "super bacteria" has entered the mix. Brazilian scientists say the drug-resistant bacteria was found along the coast of popular beaches including Flamengo and Botafogo, both of...

South America Can't Find Ex-Gitmo Detainee

Syrian native Abu Wa'el Dhiab, who had been resettled in Uruguay, goes missing

(Newser) - A South American airline is asking its employees to be on the lookout for a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was resettled in Uruguay after being freed by US authorities, the AP reports. The alert about Syrian native Abu Wa'el Dhiab adds to a growing mystery about his whereabouts....

Rio's Latest Problem: Body Parts on Olympic Beach

Foot, other body parts found Wednesday

(Newser) - The beaches of the Rio Olympics just added gory to gross : Police say a foot and other body parts possibly belonging to a young adult turned up on Copacabana beach Wednesday—right in front of the Olympic Beach Volleyball Arena, reports CNN . Little is known about the case, but it'...

Rio Governor: Olympics Could Be 'Big Failure'

Acting governor warns that federal government payout is needed

(Newser) - Rio de Janeiro's acting governor warned Monday that the Olympic Games could be a "big failure" because of budget shortfalls that threaten to compromise security and mobility during the games. In an interview with Rio's O Globo daily, Francisco Dornelles said the state is still awaiting an...

Using Jaguar in Olympic Ceremony Ends Up Being Terrible Idea

It was chained up during Brazil torch relay

(Newser) - Using a live jaguar at an Olympic torch relay ceremony—what could go wrong? Officials in Manaus, Brazil, discovered the answer to that question Monday when the animal was shot dead after escaping its leash and approaching one of the soldiers sent to recapture it, Reuters reports. In what the...

Athletes Are Already Getting Robbed in Rio

Australian Paralympian robbed at gunpoint on Sunday

(Newser) - The Olympics are still six weeks away, yet several athletes have already become victims of crime in Rio. Australian Paralympic sailor Liesl Tesch, 47, says a man with a gun demanded money, then pushed her off her bicycle as she rode in a park on Sunday. A second man stole...

Rio Declares Financial Emergency Just Weeks Before Olympics

Not to mention looming 'public calamity' and 'social collapse'

(Newser) - With less than 50 days before the Olympics, the state of Rio de Janeiro officially declared financial emergency while warning of a "serious economic crisis" and looming "public calamity," the BBC reports. According to Reuters , Gov. Francisco Dornelles declared the state of financial emergency Friday, requesting federal...

Athletes, Coaches Freezing Sperm Before Olympics Over Zika Fears

But few plan on staying home

(Newser) - The Zika virus is adding a whole new wrinkle to the way athletes and coaches are preparing for the Olympics this year. For example, the New York Times reports John Speraw, coach of the US men's indoor volleyball team, is freezing his sperm before traveling to Rio. “My...

Pregnant Savannah Guthrie: I'm Skipping Olympics

She's the highest-profile NBC employee to opt out so far

(Newser) - Today co-host Savannah Guthrie is pregnant with her second child—which means she won't be heading to Brazil to cover the Olympics this summer. "I’m not going to be able to go to Rio, so you’ll have to go to beach volleyball without me," she...

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