Sports-COPA Favorites Brazil fail to shoot again (AFP)

Buenos Aires (AFP)-Brazil failed again to live up to their favorite label box office America, securing 2-2 draw with Paraguay after they were 90 seconds from defeat.

Stryker substitute Fred on Saturday rescued a point, but unless the auriverde can beat Ecuador match group b final, they will sweat the they did enough to reach the quarterfinals.

Current form, they hardly deserve to advance.

Then again, the tournament is proving the thousand experience for large teams of Latin America, also did not follow their traditional opponents Argentina or Uruguay.

The trio won 36 out of 41 last editions of the tournament, but this year they are having their way.

Six games, zero wins the story so far for the auriverde, the albiceleste the Celeste.

While the big guns in the struggle to impress, new names are emerging, as Venezuela, which stand proudly at the top of the Group of Brazil after first holding stars Samba to draw goalless in La Plata, then sat aside with Ecuador strike ?"????? mchosht msizr González in Salta.

With Peru, whose last title came in 1975, and Chile, which has never won the event, setting the pace in their group ahead of semi-finalists of the World Cup and Colombia and Argentina in their place, leaving the order and is not rocking yet crumbling.

Fred not appeared when done for the Brazilians is now bottom of group holders do them and not expect their Assembly in Ecuador issued a mmoshma.

Brazil coach putting brave face Mano Menezes on result Paraguay, insisting that "they didn't do enough to beat us and brutal which did that."

But he admitted: "there was a lot of pressure to win-we made some mistakes and lose. Now we are going into our third match (be) better than our second was better than our first. "

Release Robinho looks smart when you step on the new faces for beautiful boxes, Jadson scored but he failed to appear after the transition, when elano was opportunity Brazilians do not appear to have settled on a system on the basis of their opening two matches.

A veteran of Paraguay Scorer a Roque Santa Cruz-Nelson Haedo Valdez involve their second home – was furious after the late intervention of Fred denied Guarani famous victory.

"We made mistakes that team just not do. We dropped key points, "said the man Blackburn after mosquito 25th goal for his country to go level with Saturnino Cardozo.

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino agreed that victory has been closed.

"I like English, but it hurts (to give the benefit of the goal at the end.) We should really have both our games, "he insisted.

With the next to come and in the know have cut to get the win they need to ensure the progress of their work.

Venezuela defender Oswaldo Viscarrondo, with two games to date, insisted the team has no intention of throwing it all away now.

"We prepared well, which can be seen in the following performances.

"It's very fine balanced cash. I just hope we continue in this vein that we want to reach the quarters as the, "he said.

"Paraguay side we respect but we are already receiving honor these last few years" too-to say nothing about last week.

Sunday sees Colombia will try to secure the quarters with a victory over Bolivia. This point enough cafeteros, says Argentina having to beat Costa Rica to win group a.

A draw in this game says hosts need to sweat about bagging one of the units place in quarters of their two best third placed finisher.

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Manufacturers of home fire sprinkler laws again beating (AP)

HARTFORD, Connecticut – almost three dozen States have rejected the idea of requiring sprinkler systems in homes by promulgating laws or regulations which prohibit the installation mandatory.

Home Builders, still reeling from the recession, say that require sprinkler I will add to their costs. They found allies in legislatures and regulatory bodies that have turned aside arguments by fire safety officials requiring sprinklers in homes save lives.

The National Association of Home Builders has not taken a position on State action prohibiting mandatory sprinklers in homes, said program manager Steve Orlowski, but the group claimed that installing residential sprinklers should be up to homeowners.

Either through legislation or code, 34 States have prohibited compulsory residential sprinklers, Orlowski said. Only two States — California and Maryland — have adopted codes that require the installation of sprinklers in homes, he said.

In other States, sprinkler legislation has died or is pending until next year, according to the National Conference of State legislatures.

Connecticut, for example, is returned to action until next year. A measure requiring automatic fire-fighting systems in one-and two-family homes failed to make it to a vote of the Committee of public safety and fire safety.

Senator Anthony Guglielmo, Republican Senator of the positioning of the Committee, said lawmakers do not have enough information about the cost to manufacturers and municipalities would enforce the law. Lawmakers will take up the issue next year only after hearing the recommendations of officials and others brought together by the Department of public safety, he said.

International Code Council, an organization of construction inspectors, fire officials and others who set construction standards, recommended in 2009 which States and municipalities adopt codes requiring sprinkler systems in homes and townhouses of less than three stories high. The regulation entered into force on 1 January.

The National Fire Protection Association said sprinklers will contribute in particular to children, the elderly and the disabled by giving them time to escape by burning the houses.

Opponents to require sprinklers mentioning their cost — and the consequent impact on House prices — and voter dissatisfaction with government mandates.

Missouri lawmakers extended for eight years rules requiring manufacturers to offer but does not mandate sprinklers.

"Our main concern in this housing market, is that the requirement for mandatory sprinklers could cost $ 7,000 to $ 15,000 at home," said Eric Schmitt Missouri state senator, Republican Chairman of jobs, economic development and local Government Committee. "In this market, it is very difficult to justify."

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch tried to auction legislation that banned local planning boards that require sprinkler systems in homes as a condition of approval for permits. The decision about whether to require sprinklers must be a local, Lynch said.

Lawmakers overrode the veto.

Senator John s. Barnes, Republican Chairman of the municipal Public Affairs Committee, said that the vote to override was not easy, because he typically favors local control. But does not believe that any government body should be ordering homeowners to install sprinklers.

"Whether to purchase or build a House, I think I have to decide if I put in an irrigation system," he said.

John a. Viniello, President of the National Fire Sprinkler, said the process by which the codes are approved is defective. Codes that regulate the wiring, construction and other aspects of home building are informed by the opinion of an expert from industry and others, he said.

But when legislatures have a role in the process, too often are modified codes or sunk, he said.

"Once the politicians involved, is finished," he said.

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Earthquake strikes again Yushu, China (Reuters)

Beijing, Jun (Reuters)-A magnitude 5.2 quake rocked a region largely Tibetan in Northwest China on Sunday, said the official Xinhua News Agency, more than a year after a tremor of magnitude 7.1 killed 2,700 people in the same area.

It was not immediately known if there were any casualties or damage after the earthquake with epicentre in Nangqian County, at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), Xinhua cited the China earthquake networks Center as saying.

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake left more than 87,000 people are dead or missing and millions in the southwestern province of Sichuan in May 2008, months before Beijing hosted the summer Olympics.

(Reporting by Langi Chiang and Benjamin Kang Lim; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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Americans may hit gas again after reserve release (Reuters)

MIAMI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Going lightly on the gas pedal, getting a few dollars of gas rather than filling up, cutting out the cruising, and swapping the BMW for a Dodge Caliber -- those are ways Americans are coping with gasoline prices well above $3 a gallon.

But people pumping gas on Friday from Miami to San Francisco saw prospects for lower prices thanks to President Barack Obama's decision on Thursday to tap the country's emergency petroleum stockpile as part of a global effort to bolster tight oil supplies.

The release of 30 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve may not make people reschedule long summer road trips but could spell welcome relief for household budgets crimped by an anemic economic recovery.

While it might be a political move by Obama to help his re-election bid for 2012, as some speculate, most drivers seemed happy to get a break, even a small one.

Jonathan Sifuentes, a 26-year-old power company employee, called the decision "the right thing to do" as he fueled up a Toyota Camry sedan on Miami's outskirts.

"Everyone is hurting, with the economy, and unfortunately we do need gas to maintain our lifestyle, to go to work, to get groceries, to pick up our kids," he said.

Gasoline prices have fallen about 30 cents since the beginning of May to an average of $3.65 a gallon, but the U.S. Department of Energy said it expected gasoline to average $3.75 a gallon this summer, up 99 cents from last year.

While U.S. gas prices may look like a steal to a European, Americans rely more on the stuff. The American lifestyle built around the car and cheap gas prices, for all the work on mass transit and renewable energy, is not going away.

Some drivers hoped the reserve release would help bring down gas prices as much as 50 to 75 cents per gallon. But Dales Feild, a 55-year-old retired General Motors Co assembly worker in Detroit who likes to go shopping and cruising around town for the fun of it, said she did not expect to see a gallon below $3 again, ever.

"I was surprised when it did it once, I don't think it'll happen again," Feild said as she filled the tank of her navy blue GMC Sonoma pickup truck.

'NOT AN EMERGENCY'

Chicagoan Jackson Donnie, a 29-year-old landlord, had stopped filling his gas tank, putting in $20 each time, and was often perilously close to empty. He was walking more or riding his scooter. Obama, he said, felt America's pain at the pumps.

"I think what he did is just to give the economy a break because we were so uptight," said Donnie. "He feels for us. He's a human being just like we are."

Diana Crane, 59, was buying $15 worth of gas at a Houston Valero station for her Ford Focus. She said Obama's motives might have been political, but she did not really care.

"He's trying to make people feel good." said Crane. "If they feel good, maybe they'll vote for him. That's what politicians do. Isn't the government supposed to be for the people?"

Not everyone was willing to give Obama credit for doing the right thing, like Los Angeles nurse Igor Piligramm, 45.

"That's a bad idea because emergency supplies exist for emergencies," he said as he filled up his sedan in Hollywood. "This is not an emergency."

While there might not be many options for short-term relief, the high gas prices and the release of vast reserves, only the third in history, inevitably led drivers to talk about the need for long-term solutions, from America pumping more of its own gas to investing in renewable energy.

The latter is particularly popular in a green energy hotbed like San Francisco, where Praneal Narayan, a software company employee, was pumping gas in his Lexus.

"It feels like there is always some excuse for the price of fuel going up," he said. "Alternative energy is what we should really be focused on instead of what is the price of fuel today."

Until the long-term fixes come through, drivers just need to find the way to make it through the month, like 48-year-old San Francisco yacht captain Yohy Bitton.

Bitton was filling up for a drive down the California coast for the weekend, but he was not taking his own gas- guzzling BMW. He rented a compact Dodge Caliber.

"I'm driving to LA. I'd rather drive this," he said. "The mileage is better, it seems. Much better."

(Additional reporting by Bruce Nichols in Houston, Euanju Lie in Chicago, Deepa Seetharaman in Detroit and Mary Slosson in Los Angeles; Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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