Needle scare spreads across Australia

MELBOURNE - Public fears about sewing needles concealed inside strawberries on supermarket shelves have spread across Australia and New Zealand as growers turn to metal detectors and the Australian government launches an investigation to restore public confidence in the popular fruit.

Japan tycoon lands first SpaceX moon flight

HAWTHORNE, California - SpaceX, Elon Musk's space transportation company, on Monday named its first private passenger on a voyage around the moon as Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, the founder and chief executive of online fashion retailer Zozo.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Professor speaks out on 'assault'

WASHINGTON - A college professor went public for the first time on Sunday to accuse US President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s, prompting calls to postpone the nomination vote.

Floodwaters rise as storm continues

GRIFTON, North Carolina - Catastrophic floods raised the threat of dam breaks and landslides across the southeastern United States on Monday, prolonging the agony caused by a killer hurricane that has left more than a dozen people dead and billions of dollars in damage.

Salesforce boss, wife buy Time magazine

WASHINGTON - Time Magazine is being sold by Meredith Corp to Marc Benioff, a co-founder of Salesforce, and his wife.

Idlib to further divide Ankara and Moscow

ISTANBUL - As global and regional powers are wrestling over how best to deal with rebels in their last major stronghold in the Syrian province of Idlib, Turkish analysts warn that the planned offensive risks further deepening divergences between Turkey and Russia.

Salisbury at center of third alert

The Southern English city of Salisbury was the subject of a major security scare on Sunday night amid fears of a possible poisoning at a local restaurant.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Florence threatens 'epic' rainfall

WILSON, North Carolina - Storm Florence weakened on Sunday as it swept through the Carolinas but dozens of communities are devastated and "epic" amounts of rain could still fall, officials said.

Gunmen wearing mariachi garb kill 5, gang link probed

MEXICO CITY - Mexicans heading into the weekend's Independence Day celebrations were jolted by a brazen shooting by men dressed as mariachi musicians who killed five people and wounded eight in Garibaldi Plaza, an iconic square in the capital where the bands serenade tourists.

Iran criticizes French police for reaction to attack on embassy

LONDON - Iran said on Saturday that Kurdish activists attacked its embassy in Paris and it accused French police of arriving late on the scene.