Observers blast government for refusing to measure public servants' productivity

The Canadian federation for the sport of skeleton is defending a decision to withdraw athletes from an international event on Sunday, a move a former U.S. Olympic athlete and two-time world champion alleges torpedoed her chance of attending a sixth Games. According to a statement from Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, four of the program’s “younger athletes” were removed from a North American Cup race in Lake Placid, N.Y., an event on the lower-tier developmental circuit’s calendar where competitors from any nation can earn points to qualify for the upcoming Milan Cortina Games in Italy....