AP - Government data show sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the past eight months in further evidence that the nation is still in the grips of the worst housing slump in decades.

AP - Friday was France's turn to greet Barack Obama who was to visit Paris just long enough for talks with the French president and a joint news conference, but no rousing speech like the one he delivered in Berlin despite his solid French fan club.

AP - A Qantas jumbo jet carrying 345 passengers made an emergency landing Friday with a gaping hole in its fuselage after a mysterious "explosive decompression," officials said.

AP - South Texas was getting back on its feet Friday as residents filter through the soggy mess left by Hurricane Dolly despite thousands still being without power.

AP - Scientists have exposed some of the mystery behind the northern lights. On Thursday, NASA released findings that indicate magnetic explosions about one-third of the way to the moon cause the northern lights, or aurora borealis, to burst in spectacular shapes and colors, and dance across the sky.

AP - Stocks rose modestly Friday after the government reported that orders for big-ticket items rose at the fastest pace in four months, sharply higher than analysts expected.

AP - China's booming Internet population has surpassed the United States to become the world's biggest, with 253 million people online despite government controls on Web use, according to government data reported Friday.

AP - It sounds like a scene from "Fight Club." French police say camouflaged paparazzi who got on to the grounds of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's chateau in southern France fought with the Hollywood couple's guards.

AP - No team in baseball is playing as well as the Milwaukee Brewers and no hitter is on a tear like Ryan Braun. The left fielder hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to cap his second straight four-hit game and Milwaukee won its eighth straight, 4-3 over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.