World briefs 7/6/06

Ealy inspection shows no damage to Discovery

HOUSTON -- Early inspections have revealed no damage to the space shuttle Discovery, NASA said Wednesday after a day of checking out the spacecraft with on-board cameras. That means that when the shuttle meets up with the international space station Thursday morning it likely won't need emergency repairs while hooked up with the orbital outpost -- unlike last year's daring spacewalk fixes. Discovery's delicate heat shield and everything else appear at first glance to be in near perfect shape, NASA officials said, although it's still early in the analysis. Engineers are nowhere near finished poring over 70 minutes of video that astronauts shot using an extended boom armed with a laser and cameras to inspect Discovery's delicate reinforced carbon wing and nosecone. It took Discovery's crew more than six hours to get 70 minutes of video because they had to move the boom slowly so not to bump the fragile shuttle skin.

3 people charged in cola espionage case

ATLANTA -- Three people were charged by federal prosecutors on Wednesday with stealing confidential information, including a sample of a new drink, from The Coca-Cola Co. and trying to sell it to rival PepsiCo Inc. The suspects include a Coke executive's administrative assistant, Joya Williams, who is accused of rifling through corporate files and stuffing documents and a new Coca-Cola product into a personal bag. Williams, 41, of Norcross, Ga., and 30-year-old Ibrahim Dimson of New York and 43-year-old Edmund Duhaney of Decatur, Ga., were arrested on charges of wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling Coke trade secrets, federal prosecutors said. They are expected to appear before a federal magistrate judge today in Atlanta, where Coca-Cola is based. Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco said his company did what any responsible company would do in cooperating with the investigation.

Israel authorizes army to enter populated areas

JERUSALEM -- Israel stepped up pressure Wednesday on Hamas militants who launched improved, longer-range rockets into the heart of a major Israeli city, authorizing the army to enter populated areas in the northern Gaza Strip. The planned invasion threatened to be far bloodier than Israel's week-old offensive in Gaza aimed at freeing an abducted soldier. To carve out a sufficiently wide buffer zone to protect Israeli towns from such attacks, the army might have to go into densely populated areas where it can expect fierce resistance from Palestinian militants. Previous raids into the northern town of Jebaliya have sparked running gunbattles that have caused serious casualties on both sides. "There will be steps taken and they will be very serious," said Cabinet Minister Yitzhak Herzog, who refused to elaborate on the military's plans. "There is a very broad operation here. It will continue."

N.J. casinos close on fifth day of state shutdown

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The dice stopped rolling, dealers quit shuffling and slot machines fell silent Wednesday as New Jersey's casinos closed for the first time, the latest victims of a five-day state government shutdown that showed no signs of ending soon. In the first mass closure in the 28-year history of Atlantic City's legalized gambling trade, all 12 casinos went dark. With no state budget, New Jersey cannot pay its state employees, including casino inspectors who keep tabs on the money. The shutdown could cost the 12 casinos more than $16 million that they would normally collect from gamblers each day, not to mention the $1.3 million in taxes taken in by the state.

-- From wire reports