Reuters – Hurricane Earl battered North Carolina’s coast with rain, winds and waves on Friday and swirled up the U.S. eastern seaboard toward New England and Canada as a weakened but still dangerous storm.
Time.com – Amid the catastrophes, the country’s religious minorities are under assault — and one group has allegedly been denied official assistance
AFP – Cricket’s world governing body charged three Pakistan stars with anti-corruption offences and provisionally suspended them, as the trio protested their innocence in an alleged betting scam.
AP – Utah was wavering between stifling defense and play sloppy enough to blow an 11-point lead before Brian Blechen saved the Utes.
AP – Japan approved fresh economic sanctions against Iran on Friday after the United Nations asked Tokyo to tighten restrictions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear enrichment program, an official said.
AFP – The European Union pressed China on Friday to back up its words with action and do more to stem the flow of Chinese-made counterfeit goods into Europe and around the world.
AP – A French skyscraper climber nicknamed “Spider-Man” pleaded not guilty Friday to charges related to his bare-handed climb up a 57-story building in downtown Sydney.
AP – A Malaysian man pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his bag bursting with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a luggage conveyer belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, an official said Friday.
Reuters – American rock band Guns N’ Roses incurred the wrath of a crowd in Ireland after showing up almost an hour late — and then left the stage after being pelted with plastic glasses.
AP – President Felipe Calderon tried to rally frustrated Mexicans behind his increasingly bloody drug war Thursday, saying he knows violence has surged under his watch, but arguing that it is the price of confronting powerful and brutal cartels.
AP – The Dallas Cowboys are going into the season feeling a lot better about kicker David Buehler.
AFP – A fresh batch of US unemployment figures will on Friday provide Americans with a crucial litmus test for the sputtering economic recovery and President Barack Obama’s policies.
AP – An electoral official accused President Hugo Chavez and his allies of breaking campaign laws by using state-run media to berate rivals and praise friends ahead of this month’s legislative elections.
Reuters – China on Friday offered a rare glimpse into its foreign exchange reserves, confirming that they are overwhelmingly allocated in dollars, while a central banker said the mountain of cash could face depreciation risks.
AFP – Farmers in eastern China are grappling with an explosion in the population of wild boars, who are destroying crops and upsetting the ecological balance, state media said on Friday.
AP – Members of the original funk band War say they can’t be friends with PepsiCo.
AP – Twentieth Century Fox’s “Machete” is set to slice up the competition as director Robert Rodriguez’s star-studded extravaganza will likely dominate the weekend with a Friday through Monday total of around $16 million.
AP – The death toll from Typhoon Kompasu, which battered the Korean peninsula with strong winds and heavy rains, rose to five in South Korea, an official said Friday.
Reuters – The summer box-office season wraps this weekend with three unheralded, adult-targeted new releases struggling to topple reigning champ “Takers.”
SPACE.com – NASA is
developing an ambitious new mission to plunge a car-sized probe directly into
the sun’s atmosphere, boldly going where no spacecraft has gone before.
AFP – Maria Sharapova has kept alive her hopes of a second US Open crown, four years after her first, with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 win over Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic.
AP – Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney (MAK’-uh-lay-nee) of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” hit a home run with their new baby boy.
AP – Searchers in the rugged North Cascades of Washington state have found a climbing backpack and a daypack belonging to the son of Hall of Fame boxing promoter Bob Arum, but are still looking for the missing climber.
AP – Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus has been declared ineligible for two games for accepting nearly $2,000 in improper benefits during two trips to Miami.
Reuters – Contact between 33 Chilean miners trapped for weeks underground and the outside world took an irreverent twist on Thursday, as the men passed dirty jokes to the surface — and the Pope sent down blessed rosaries.
