Team USA names their flag bearer for opening ceremony

Erin Hamlin will carry the U.S. flag into Friday's opening ceremony at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

The four-time Olympic luger was chosen by fellow Team USA Olympians for the honor. Hamlin is retiring at the end of the Olympics, after nearly two decades of racing competitively.

Hamlin says "it is definitely a privilege and honor to be the one to lead the team."

The native of Remsen, New York, won a bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Games and is a two-time world champion. She's also the fourth luge athlete to carry the U.S. flag into an Olympics.

Russia alleges Western media preparing bogus Olympic report

Russia's Foreign Ministry claims that unspecified Western news media are preparing a bogus report about Russian connections in hacker attacks related to the Winter Olympics.

In a statement Wednesday, the ministry said "It is known to us that Western mass media are planning to throw in a pseudoinvestigation on the theme of 'the Russian trace' in hacker attacks on information resources connected with conducting the Winter Olympics in South Korea."

"As before, no kind of evidence will be presented to the world," said the statement, which gave no evidence of its own claims.

The statement comes amid simmering resentment in Russia over its athletes being forced to compete under a neutral flag at the Olympics because of doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Salt Lake City seeks 2030 Olympic bid

Salt Lake City on Wednesday became the first U.S. city to announce its intentions to bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics as this year's games get ready to kick off in South Korea.

The city's Olympic exploratory committee concluded that Utah could host the Winter Games again without losing money thanks to existing venues and the budget expertise of a team that put on the 2002 Olympics.

The committee's 140page report, which includes a budget estimate of $1.35 billion, will be sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee, said Fraser Bullock, Utah panel co-chairman. Bullock will be in Pyeongchang this month and plans to meet with officials.

Salt Lake City could face competition from Denver and Reno, Nevada, which are considering bids. Internationally, cities weighing the move include Sion, Switzerland; Calgary, Canada; Stockholm, Sweden; and Sapporo, Japan.

Salt Lake City, which prefers the 2030 Winter Games but is open to 2026, has a "reasonable" chance because of its history of hosting alpine events and the success of the 2002 Olympics, but the IOC would prefer a European city for at least one of those slots, according to Chicagobased sports-finance consultant Marc Ganis.

European voters have consistently rejected Olympic plans since Russia spent $51 billion on infrastructure for the 2014 Sochi Games.