AP International http://www.nj.com/newsflash/international/ News feeds provided by Newslookup.com en Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:02 EDT Obama signs $600M border security bill into law http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-19/128171520553140.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has signed into law a $600 million border security that will put more agents and equipment along the Mexican border. Waters defends herself against ethics allegations http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-19/1281714054319230.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - WASHINGTON - Veteran Rep. Maxine Waters says she violated no House rules and did no wrong in connection with alleged ethics violations, including an assertion she sought federal assistance for a bank where her husband served on the board. Search ends with 4 found dead in S. Africa mine http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/1281711737200930.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - SPRINGS, South Africa - South African police called off a search after three hours at an abandoned gold mine near Johannesburg on Friday, a day after finding four bodies in the shaft. Consumer prices rise after 3 straight declines http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/128170820521610.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - WASHINGTON - Consumer prices rose in July by the most since last August as energy costs increased for the first time in five months. India eyes Google and Skype in security crackdown http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/128170942181660.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - MUMBAI, India - India may ask Google and Skype for greater access to encrypted information once it resolves security concerns with BlackBerrys, which are now under threat of a ban, according to a government document and two people familiar with the discussions. Retail sales post July gain, consumer prices rise http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/1281705716245460.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - WASHINGTON - A busy month for car dealerships lifted retail sales for the first time in three months while more expensive food and gas boosted consumer prices by the most in nearly a year. 3 Fla. kids buy plane tickets, fly alone to Tenn. http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/1281710606140670.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Three Florida children bought tickets with baby-sitting money and flew to Nashville, Tenn., on Southwest Airlines-unbeknownst to their parents. Petraeus hedges on July 2011 Afghan pullback goal http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-19/128170217672320.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - WASHINGTON - The new U.S. commander in Afghanistan says the goal of starting an American pullback by July 2011 will depend on conditions at the time. Russia: Iran's nuclear plant to get fuel next week http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/1281705679245460.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - MOSCOW - Russia will load fuel into Iran's first nuclear power plant next week despite U.S. demands to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear energy until the country proves that it's not pursuing a weapons capacity, officials said Friday. Eurozone shows robust 1 percent growth in Q2 http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/128169602776050.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - LONDON - The economy of the 16 countries that use the euro expanded by a better-than-expected 1 percent during the second quarter as growth engine Germany expanded at its fastest pace since reunification two decades ago. Superfund cleanup in Idaho draws local opposition http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/1281693664253260.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - KELLOGG, Idaho - People who live around a toxic former silver mining complex in Idaho have a message for federal environmental officials who want to expand a lengthy cleanup effort: Go home, your help is no longer wanted. Flight attendant's grand exit is a dream for some http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/1281711855200930.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - NEW YORK - Hasn't everyone thought about doing it? Gates: Congress hurting Afghan civilian aid effort http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/1281670909310650.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - SAN FRANCISCO - Defense Secretary Robert Gates is calling for a "change in attitude" on Capitol Hill in getting more civilian help in Afghanistan. Money fund assets rose to $2.822T in latest week http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/1281655239227690.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - NEW YORK - Total money market mutual fund assets rose by $3.53 billion to $2.822 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday. 5 funds that seek to profit off M&A http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/1281652931117910.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - Merger arbitrage is an investing strategy to profit from corporate mergers and acquisitions. Typically, after a proposed deal is announced, an investor buys stock of the company being acquired. Initially, the stock trades below the price the acquiring company offers to pay. But the stock typically rises closer to the buyer's offering price if the deal appears on track to close. Bank customers fighting overdraft fees in court http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/128165164862120.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - DES MOINES, Iowa - Bank customers fighting high overdraft fees got a boost on Tuesday with a win in federal court in California against Wells Fargo & Co., but that case has limited legal impact. CDC: Fruit pulp linked to rare US typhoid cases http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/1281648150226070.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - ATLANTA - A rare U.S. outbreak of typhoid fever has been linked to a frozen tropical fruit product used to make smoothies, health officials reported Thursday. North Dakota man swallows other inmate's glasses http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/1281639661147760.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - BISMARCK, N.D. - A North Dakota inmate was not afraid of making a spectacle of himself when he grabbed another suspect's glasses and started to eat them. Former Calif. priest faces sex charges in Ireland http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/128163841756820.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - SAN FRANCISCO - A former Catholic priest is in federal custody in California, awaiting extradition to face sex abuse charges in his native Ireland. Still Waters: Lawmaker remains popular at home http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/128163849556820.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - LOS ANGELES - Congressional ethics charges have tarnished Maxine Waters' reputation in Washington. But in the struggling, mostly Hispanic and black neighborhoods she represents, residents still hold the 10-term Democratic congresswoman in high esteem. How states fared on jobless claims, at a glance http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/128163847056820.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - New applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to their highest level since February, the Labor Department said Thursday. It's the latest evidence of a weakening economy and a sign that some employers are still cutting their staffs. LA film couple sentenced in Thai bribery case http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/1281668444198800.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - LOS ANGELES - A filmmaking couple was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison, followed by six months of home detention, for bribing Thai officials so they could run the Bangkok International Film Festival. Maine lighthouse with million-dollar view for sale http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-48/1281643413322030.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - PORTLAND, Maine - The property has a million-dollar view, but the quarters are cramped, the grounds are nothing to brag about and a loud fog horn blares every 10 seconds. Twitter hoping people will press its tweet button http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/business-76/1281635107117490.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - SAN FRANCISCO - Tweeting your favorite stories may be getting a little easier. US: Firms must spell out workers' benefit rights http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-19/1281635259117490.xml&storylist=new_topstories (AP) - WASHINGTON - Your company just denied your disability claim. What do you do now? How long do you have to file an appeal? And with whom?