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Olympics 2021: NBC faces 'hell of a challenge' producing Tokyo Games after spectators are barred from competitions
CNN
NBC was presented with a new challenge producing the 2021 Olympic Games on Thursday after organizers said that spectators will be prohibited from the Tokyo venues, a move that eliminates a key component of live sports broadcasts and could give the competitions an eerie feel.
The setback, which was announced after Japan declared a coronavirus state of emergency, is the latest in a string of complications that have arisen ahead of a Summer Olympics which are set to take place as the pandemic rages across the globe. The absence of fans effectively makes this year's Olympic Games a made-for-television event while also rendering it more difficult to make for television.![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250216092711.jpg)
Amid Democrats’ shock and bickering over how much to respond to President Donald Trump is a deeper question rippling through leaders across the Capitol and across the country: How much should they rely on the same institutional and procedural maneuvers they used during the first Trump term, and how much are they willing to wield their own wrecking balls?
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In less than a month in office the Trump administration has simultaneously dismantled foreign aid programs that support fragile democracies abroad and put on leave federal workers who protect US elections at home in a move that current and former officials say abandons decades of American commitments to democracy.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell was a generational force for the Republican Party — using procedural tactics and political will to stymie much of former President Barack Obama’s agenda, hand President Donald Trump key first-term political victories and deliver a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority. Now he’s the odd man out.