discuss his training. At training camps and tournaments,

RIO DE JANEIRO -- A near-diplomatic incident -- as Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes termed it -- came to an end on Wednesday ahead of the Olympics.The Australian delegation gave the mayor a tiny boxing kangaroo doll as the sign of a truce. It also said its now happy with its rooms at Rios Olympic Athletes Village.The 700-member delegation refused to check in three days earlier because of water and gas leaks, electrical shorts, malfunctioning toilets and general filth.The unfinished village, built at a cost of about $1.5 billion, marks the first organizational crisis of South Americas first Olympics, which open in just over a week. Attention now shifts to dozens of venues, which will be filling up in the next few days with thousands of athletes hoping to practice. Problems here could make village problems seems small.It was almost a diplomatic thing, the mayor said, speaking to Australian officials and members of the mens field hockey team at the 31-building village.Paes apologized and acknowledged Australias was the worst building.Australia was right, he said. It was not in good shape. That was a mistake of the organization. What we have to do now is go ahead and organize it. Theyve got their building now, and I hope things go well from now on.As his offering, Paes gave delegation head Kitty Chiller the keys to the city, and a doll representing the official mascot Vinicius.Australian officials said about 50 athletes were living in the village on Wednesday accompanied by almost 100 additional staff members.Rio organizers said 2,902 people occupied the village on Wednesday -- 849 of them athletes.The village will accommodate 18,000 athletes and staff at its peak, but many delegations are still away at private training venues for a few more days. The crunch should come next week in the run-up to the opening ceremony on Aug. 5.After battling leaks for a week, Australia complained openly on Sunday. Dozens of other delegations also flagged up problems about their rooms, with many calling in their own workmen to fix the problems.The complaints led to hundreds of cleaners, plumbers, safety inspectors and electricians working 24-7 to resolve the issues.On Wednesday, Brazilian labor inspectors said they would fine the Rio organizing committee nearly $100,000 (about 315,000 reals) for hiring workers without proper contracts required by law. Inspector Hercules Terra told the Globo network that about 630 workers did not enjoy benefits that protect them from workplace injuries.The same inspector also said the organizing committee was going to be punished for withholding documents that would show how the employees were hired.Paes was asked four times about who would pay any bills run up by teams trying to fix their own problems. He walked away without answering, which Chiller also noted.He left immediately after that question, she said. Well sort all that out afterwards.Chiller promised to speak out again if things are not ready.Everything that weve ever said, and everything I will continue to say is about making sure that we have the best possible environment for our athletes, she said. And well stop at nothing to ensure that we get that. Whatever that takes.---Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP .His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade Dan Wilson Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Freddy Garcia Mariners Jersey . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. https://www.cheapmariners.com/2555k-domingo-santana-jersey-mariners.html . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Austin Nola Mariners Jersey . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Robinson Cano Mariners Jersey . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. RIO DE JANEIRO -- A few months before U.S. table tennis player Tahl Leibovitz left his home in Queens, N.Y., for the Rio Paralympic Games, his wife, Dawn, heard a bang late at night. They didnt identify the source of the noise until their neighbor told them her air conditioner had fallen onto their car.The neighbor was low on money but wanted to pay for the damage eventually. Leibovitz refused the offer.He understands what its like to be in a dark place, his wife said.Amid a childhood scarred by an uneasy relationship with his father and long periods of homelessness, Leibovitz found table tennis. A three-time Paralympic medalist, the 41-year-old competed in his fifth games in Rio, losing in the quarterfinals. He said he hopes to continue playing another eight years, pointing toward a possible Los Angeles 2024 Games.I would define my self-value and self-esteem, he said, through winning and through playing table tennis.He often competes in able-bodied tournaments but meets the classification standards for the Paralympics because he has osteochondroma, which causes benign bone tumors that can limit movement.Previously a substance abuse counselor, Leibovitz works at New York Families for Autistic Children.I tell my patients that although they believe they are not OK, in reality they are actually OK, he said. Their circumstances may not be.When Leibovitz was a young teenager, he broke a basement window at his house. Tensions over that incident with his father began an eight-year period of on and off homelessness, he said.In addition to staying away from home, he stayed away from school. Sixth grade was the last year he completed.The Boys & Girls Club in Queens opened at 3 p.m. on weekdays. There, he could play table tennis until the club closed around 9 p.m. He slept on subway trains at night.I dont know if (returning home) was really an option for me at that time, Leibovitz said.He and his twin sister, Maja, said their father, Ernest, physically abused them. His father, when reached for this story, said he did not consider his treatment of his children abuse.I wasnt hitting him because I was getting mad and upset. I was hitting him because I was trying to make a point, Leibovitzs father said, aadding that his son was a problematic teenager.dddddddddddd.His mother, who was divorced from his father, died in 2006. His father said he wasnt aware of his sons perpetual homelessness. His son told him he was living with friends.Leibovitz and his father now see each other about once a month, they both said, living just over a mile apart.He feels bad about me being homeless for that many years, but he said it made me very tough and who I am, Leibovitz said.Leibovitz played in his first table tennis tournament at the Junior Olympic trials when he was 15. At a tournament in New Jersey in 1995, an international referee told him he might classify for Paralympic sport because of his condition.The next year, Leibovitz won gold and bronze at the Atlanta Paralympics while still homeless. Soon after, he moved in with his twin sister.Leibovitz, who also won bronze at the 2004 Games, is self-coached. Angie Bengtsson, the U.S. table tennis head coach in Rio, said they communicate over the phone to discuss his training. At training camps and tournaments, Bengtsson said Leibovitz helps younger players.They have a lot of respect for him, Bengtsson said. A lot of them want to be just like him.In addition to his athletic success, Leibovitz earned his GED and said he has bachelors and masters degrees from Queens College and a second masters in social work from NYU.Pieces of his past show in his outlook on his sport.Whether I win or lose, Im OK, Leibovitz said. Im not going to say it doesnt matter, but it doesnt change who I am.In 2002, Leibovitz used an inheritance from his grandfather to buy a three-bedroom condo, which he said is too big. Its a problem, he said, he never thought he would have.Im sure theres a lot of it that he wishes he didnt have to go through, his wife said. Even though it was all bad that happened, it will be applied to his life to help others. Thats what hes doing with it now.---Emily Giambalvo is a journalism student at the University of Georgia. Penn State and Georgia are partnering with The Associated Press to supplement coverage of the 2016 Paralympics. ' ' '