Etc.

Olympics to break new snow on the slopes of Sochi

By selecting Sochi last month as host of the 2014 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has placed this snow-and-ice competition where it's never been before, in the Black Sea resort town on the "Russian Riviera." Russian President Vladimir Putin helped to lobby for Sochi's selection, impressing IOC voters at their meeting in Guatemala by speaking to them in French and English, the official languages of the Olympic movement. Most of the needed winter sports facilities have yet to be built, but Putin guaranteed they'd be completed in time, reassuring words for those who gave Sochi the nod over two other finalists, Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Salzburg, Austria. Countries that have previously staged the Winter Olympics, and the number of times:

US 4

France 3

Austria 2

Italy 2

Japan 2

Norway 2

Switzerland 2

Canada 1

Germany 1

Yugoslavia 1