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AFP - A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused widespread devastation in New Zealand's second largest city of Christchurch Saturday, with officials saying it was "extremely lucky" no one was killed.

AP - A federal appeals court has found Eminem's former production company is entitled to more money from downloads of the rapper's songs and ringtones.

Reuters - Authorities declared a state of emergency after a major earthquake hit New Zealand's second biggest city early on Saturday, bringing down power lines, ripping up roads and wrecking building facades, but authorities reported no deaths.

AFP - South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan on Saturday offered to resign after being accused of nepotism over the controversial hiring of his daughter, a spokesman for the ministry said.

AP - Gov. Jan Brewer rose to national fame defending the state's immigration law and warning of rising violence along the U.S.-Mexico border, including a claim that headless bodies were turning up in the Arizona desert.

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to inject urgency into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday, warning the negotiations may be "the last chance for a very long time" to reach an agreement.

AP - A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake damaged buildings, cut power and knocked fleeing residents off their feet on New Zealand's South Island early Saturday, but there were so far no deaths and only two injuries reported.

AP - The security company Blackwater Worldwide formed a network of 30 shell companies and subsidiaries to try to get millions of dollars in government business after the company faced strong criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday.

AP - Google Inc.'s methods for recommending websites are being reviewed by Texas' attorney general in an investigation spurred by complaints that the company has abused its power as the Internet's dominant search engine.

Reuters - U.S. government inspectors found no leaking oil at Mariner Energy Inc's burned platform in the Gulf of Mexico, officials said late on Friday, allaying fears about more environmental damage after BP's massive spill.

Apple today announced that in less than 48 hours since its launch on Wednesday, more than one million users have joined Ping, its new social network for music. Ping lets users follow their favorite artists and friends to discover what music they’re talking about, listening to, and downloading. “One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping,“ said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing.“

Computerworld reviewer Michael deAgonia writes that for “the past month, the latest 27-inch iMac from Apple has been the center of my digital universe.” Citing the computer’s high-resolution LED-backlit display, clean design, and speed, deAgonia concludes: “The iMac is pretty much everything I could want from a modern computer, the ultimate all-in-one.”

PC World - The market for enterprise disk storage systems grew strongly in the second quarter, continuing to recover from a slump brought on by the economic slowdown of 2008 and 2009, research company IDC said on Friday.

PC World - Google is spending US$8.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed over the rollout of its Google Buzz social-networking service.

Reuters - Google Inc said on Friday it was the target of an investigation by the Texas Attorney General's office into the fairness of its search engine rankings.

Reuters - Google Inc said on Friday it was the target of an investigation by the Texas Attorney General's office into the fairness of its search engine rankings.

Reuters - The U.S. government is likely to take a loss on General Motors Co in the first offering of the automaker's stock, six people familiar with preparations for the landmark IPO said.

Macworld.com - It’s a long weekend for many of us and, as you probably know, the term “long weekend” was in fact named after actor Justin Long, who played the part of Mac in the long running Get a Mac ads that concluded earlier this year.

Investor's Business Daily - The search giant is in talks with music labels on plans for a download store and a digital song locker that would let its mobile phone users play songs wherever they are. Google (NMS:GOOG) hopes to launch the service by Christmas, according to sources. Google is trying to compete with Apple, which dominates via its iTunes Music Stores, accounting for 70% of all U.S. digital music sales. It rose 1.5% to 470.30.

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.