Olympic Torch Crosses into U.S.

After the massive protests that plagued the worldwide tour of the Olympic torch before China’s games, officials decided that the torch would only travel within the host country starting this year. But the rules were slightly bent on Tuesday when Philip Mahre, the American who won the 1984 gold medal in the alpine slalom, took hold of the Olympic torch at the Canadian border and carried it, for about a hundred steps, into Washington state’s Peace Arch State Park. It was the easiest border crossing the area will see for awhile, as the U.S. has beefed up border security before the Games. On Friday, Arnold Schwarzenegger will run with the torch in Vancouver.