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Matthias Mayer's magic mountain: Austrian jolts Olympics in downhill; Miller, Svindal falter
• SOCHI, Russia (AP) -- Matthias Mayer shut his eyes for a moment, his day's work over.
• If he had trouble believing what had just happened as he stood before the crowd it was with good reason. The Austrian struck a big upset Sunday in one of the Olympics' marquee events, capturing the men's downhill and upending the elite of his sport.
• "It's amazing to be an Olympic champion," he said.
• Mayer has never finished better than fifth in a World Cup downhill. That proved no obstacle in dismissing the preordained favorites -- Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway finished fourth and Bode Miller of the U.S. eighth.
• Among the eight gold medalists on Day 3 were: snowboarder Jamie Anderson, the American slopestyle queen who triumphed in her sport's Olympic debut; Irene Wust, who showed why speedskating is Dutch territory; and Russia in team figure skating, likewise an Olympic newcomer, for its first gold in Sochi.
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With no first lady, French leader Hollande visits US focusing on state, not personal, affairs
• PARIS (AP) -- France's suddenly single president arrives Monday in the U.S. for a state visit, hoping the glaring absence of his first lady won't steal the limelight from his focus on major policy issues with President Barack Obama.
• Francois Hollande, a bespectacled 59-year-old former Socialist party boss, will be highlighting France's shared interests with Washington on issues like Syria's civil war, Iran's nuclear program and terrorism in Africa.
• First, he may need to get past the snickers: Hollande drew headlines and ridicule worldwide last month after a gossip magazine reported that he had zipped through Paris in a face-covering helmet on a motor scooter for a tryst with French actress Julie Gayet -- unbeknownst to his first lady.
• He has since split with Valerie Trierweiler, his partner of several years, who won't be at the state dinner. She's now reportedly vacationing on a balmy Indian Ocean island. The French have largely shrugged off the reported affair as a private matter, even if they too have devoured the story on the airwaves and in print.
• But Hollande's political headaches are worse. Polls suggest his popularity is at (Continued on page 28)
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