News In Brief

UP CREEK WITHOUT PADDLE

There may be drought in the East, but there's no shortage of gumption. At New Jersey's Rancocas Creek, near Mount Holly, the water level has dropped to ankle-deep and the algae are blooming. But organizers of Saturday's Up the Creek Festival didn't cancel their annual Canoe Derby. Instead, they changed the event. Competitors were asked to pushed their canoes on wheels for an eighth of a mile along a paved street.

IDENTITY CRISIS

You might call it double trouble - an imposter from Mexico picking the wrong victim to impersonate. The man from Zacatecas was arrested after his arrival at Oakland Airport, where he was apparently trying to sneak into the US. But after a routine check of his papers, it became clear that the Mexican national was trying to assume the identity of an American citizen who is wanted on charges of felony, burglary, and carrying concealed weapons.

Florida State is No. 1 again in college-football rankings

For the fifth time since 1988, the Florida State Seminoles will start the season as college football Division I favorites. Here are the Associated Press Top-20 rankings, along with each team's total points in a survey of 70 sportswriters and broadcasters:

1. Florida State 1,720

2. Tennessee 1,643

3. Penn State 1,582

4. Arizona 1,537

5. Florida 1,361

6. Nebraska 1,327

7. Texas A&M 1,314

8. Michigan 1,292

9. Ohio State 1,160

10. Wisconsin 1,091

11. Georgia Tech 979

12. Miami 928

13. Virginia Tech 896

14. Georgia 829

15. Colorado 636

16. UCLA 587

17. Texas 487

18. Notre Dame 463

19. Southern California 455

20. Alabama 445

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