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MANGARATIBA, Brazil (AP) — No. 3 goalkeeper Mattia Perin has one foot high in the air as he leans down to return a table tennis shot.

Daniele De Rossi is battling Ignazio Abate in a video game.

Andrea Pirlo interrupts a pinball game to glance at the camera.

The photo that defender Leonardo Bonucci posted on Instagram last week offered insight into what Italy's players do with their free time at the Portobello Resort & Safari.

On Monday, goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu revealed which player is better at what on PlayStation and Xbox.

"Thiago Motta gets the gold medal at war games," he said. "(Alessio) Cerci, (Ciro) Immobile and (Lorenzo) Insigne dominate at football. De Rossi thinks he's good at basketball, but he's not, and I know that because Perin beat him.

"And I'm happy to let everyone know (De Rossi) is no good," Sirigu added with a laugh.

The game room must have been approved by Cesare Prandelli, although the Italy coach might do well to warn the players not to go overboard. It was only a few years ago that defender Alessandro Nesta had to have his thumb operated on, reportedly after injuring it playing too many video games.

"It's a good way to spend our free time and create team spirit," Sirigu said. "It's just good to be together."

— By Andrew Dampf — www.twitter.com/asdampf

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WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

FORTALEZA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari sent a message to his former Portugal players after their 4-0 loss to Germany on Monday.

"I tell my friends that when I was the coach at the Euros (in 2004) we also lost the first match and we still went on to the final," Scolari said. "This is what I can say to motivate them. They have to regroup to try to win the next match, and then win again to make sure they can advance. We lost it that time at home but we still reached the final. It can still happen and this Portugal team can do it."

Scolari coached Portugal after he led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title in South Korea and Japan. He stayed with the Portuguese national team until 2008.

In the news conference previewing Brazil's match against Mexico on Tuesday, the coach also took the time to joke with team captain Thiago Silva. In one of his answers, the defender was listing the players who could replace striker Hulk if he can't play because of an injury.

Scolari interrupted his player and asked, "Wait, so now you are the one who is saying who will be playing?"

— By Tales Azzoni — www.twitter.com/tazzoni

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FIRST DRAW

CURITIBA, Brazil (AP) — The very first day of the 2010 World Cup, both games ended as draws — one of them scoreless.

The 2014 tournament made it to its fifth day and 13th match before its first tie. Nigeria and Iran ended 0-0 in their Group F opener Monday, a dull contrast to the streak of high-scoring games, all with a winner.

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BRAZILIANS FOR PORTUGAL

SAO PAULO (AP) — Outside Restaurant Haddock Grill hangs a big flag of Brazil, and a small one of Portugal.

Inside, businessmen in suits and ties are having their lunch break — chattering loudly over their dishes with their eyes glued to the screen above the buffet offering. Portugal is playing its first World Cup game, and the mood suddenly turns dour as the team surrenders its second goal of the first half, en route to a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Germany.

Even though Brazil has been independent from Portugal for nearly two centuries, most of the diners appear partial to the squad of their former colonizers.

"Portugal is in our blood, in our body," said Andres Szarukan, a 37-year-old business manager for a digital media company. "We still have a lot of families who came from Portugal and the connection is strong."

Among those are the Martins, the owners of the diner in downtown Sao Paulo who placed the flag outside.

Sandra Martins says her parents were born in Portugal, so naturally their allegiances were to the team of Cristiano Ronaldo — so long as they weren't playing Brazil. The 38-year-old frowns after Germany scores again.

As the first half comes to a close, the diners shuffle out and reluctantly head back to their offices. Less commotion is expected the next day, when Brazil is set to play again. Most say they'll skip their business lunch out, leaving work early to catch the afternoon game at home.

— By Aron Heller — www.twitter.com/aronhellerap

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SING-OFF

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Under towering palm trees in Belo Horizonte's main square, about 100 Algeria and Belgium fans engaged in a friendly but very boisterous sing-off.

They chanted back and forth at each other in Praca da Liberdade on Monday, to the bemusement of residents who use the square for taking a stroll or running. Algeria fans were the loudest, blowing air horns and even vuvuzelas. One group of Algerians even got up on the plaza's bandstand to shout down at the Belgians.

But it was all in good humor. The Algerians made their way down from the bandstand to join the Belgians, and they danced and sang in a circle. The square is one of Belo Horizonte's iconic images, surrounded by landmarks including the Minas Gerais state government headquarters and an Oscar Niemeyer-designed building.

Algeria and Belgium will play in the Group H opener at Mineriao Stadium on Tuesday.

— By Frank Griffiths — www.twitter.com/fgriffithsap

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LANDON LAMPOONS

NATAL, Brazil (AP) — So how do you really feel, Landon?

U.S. star Landon Donovan, cut from the World Cup team, tweaks coach Jurgen Klinsmann's decision in a video released Monday, the day of the Americans' opener in Brazil. The promo for EA Sports' 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil video game depicts Donovan's supposed life without soccer — and not-so-subtly hints that his passion for the game would be the difference in lifting the U.S. to glory.

After sleeping in, Donovan slips on a USA robe and slippers. The camera cuts to images of soccer gear, then a newspaper with the headline: "Does Team USA have enough firepower?"

As Donovan sips his coffee, he knocks a replica World Cup trophy off the kitchen table and shakes his head. The clip ends with Donovan playing the video game, scoring a goal as himself to lead the U.S. to the championship. He then looks into the camera and rolls his eyes.

Fans will know a lot more about whether the decision to drop Donovan was a bad one after the Americans face Ghana later Monday in Natal. Donovan will be providing commentary for ESPN from Los Angeles.

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Associated Press reporters will be filing dispatches about happenings in and around Brazil during the 2014 World Cup. Follow AP journalists covering the World Cup on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Sports/world-cup-2014

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Seismologists say a moderate earthquake that shook northwest Alaska on Monday was the fifth of the same magnitude since April in an area with otherwise little activity.

The Alaska Earthquake Center says the magnitude-5.7 quake struck at 4:01 a.m. Monday northeast of Noatak, an Inupiat Eskimo community.

As with other temblors in the earthquake swarm, the quake was felt in the village.

Seismologist Natasha Ruppert says the five magnitude-5.7 quakes are connected to more than 300 aftershocks. The first quake occurred April 18, and all have been located in roughly the same area about 20 miles from Noatak.

Minor damage includes cracks in walls in Noatak, but no injuries have been reported.

Ruppert says there are no known active faults in the area, and scientists are puzzled.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A nephew of "Duck Dynasty's" Phil Robertson says he is running for the Louisiana congressional seat held by Vance McAllister, who was elected with the TV family's support and later was wrapped up in scandal when video surfaced showing him kissing a married staffer.

Zach Dasher, a 36-year-old Republican who never has run for office, said in a statement Monday announcing his candidacy for the Nov. 4 election that he opposed the federal health overhaul and abortion and supports a constitutional amendment requiring that Congress balance the budget.

"I got to looking around at the problems in politics today, and what I see in Washington, D.C., is no God. There is no God. The elite political class thinks they can be running our lives," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"I think there's a vacuum in D.C. of people who understand where rights come from. Rights don't come from men. They come from God."

McAllister initially said he would not seek re-election after the security video became public in April, but he's been less definitive recently, saying he'll make a decision by the August candidate sign-up period.

Dasher said his decision wasn't influenced by what happened with McAllister. He said he met with his extended family, including the stars of the A&E show, at cousin Al Robertson's home to discuss the congressional race. Dasher's mom is the sister of Phil and Silas "Uncle Si" Robertson.

"We sat down as a family this past week when we were deciding what we wanted to do. Being that closely connected, this is about them, too," Dasher said. "We got our bellies full and then we sat around in a big circle and then we prayed. We prayed about this candidacy that this would be something real. And the family was really excited."

He said he expects the famous members of his family to be involved in his campaign.

Dasher said he's worked in the pharmaceutical industry and in real estate. He said he's taken an unpaid leave of absence from the biotech company where he worked to campaign for the 5th District seat.

Unlike McAllister, who paid for much of his campaign out of his own pocket, Dasher said he won't be self-funding his bid for office.

The 5th District covers all or part of 24 parishes, from northeast and central Louisiana into southeastern parishes bordering Mississippi.

Other announced candidates so far include: Harris Brown, a Republican businessman from Monroe; Ed Tarpley of Alexandria, a Republican and former Grant Parish district attorney; and Clay Grant, a Libertarian from Boyce.

State Sen. Neil Riser, a Republican who was defeated by McAllister in last year's runoff, said Monday that he wouldn't seek the seat this time around, though he had been the presumed front-runner if he jumped into the race.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mississippi has sued credit reporting giant Experian, alleging sweeping errors in the company's data and routine violations of consumer protection laws. Mississippi's action — and a previously unreported multi-state investigation of credit bureaus led by Ohio — represent a significant new legal challenge to the industry.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's complaint against Experian Information Solutions was filed without fanfare last month in a Biloxi state courthouse and transferred to Mississippi federal court late last week. The lawsuit accuses Experian of knowingly including error-riddled data in the credit files of millions of Americans, jeopardizing their ability to obtain loans, employment-related background checks and sensitive government security clearances. Experian has even wrongly reported that consumers are on a federal terrorism watch list, the lawsuit said.

Both Experian and a spokesman for its trade group, the Consumer Data Industry Association, declined to discuss the litigation or related questions about the quality of the company's data.

Experian warned investors earlier this year that the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its British counterpart were regulatory agencies responsible for protecting consumers and said, "It remains uncertain how these bodies may affect our credit and consumer business processes and business models in the future."

Experian told investors that, to the best of its knowledge, it complies with data protection requirements, but it warned that, "We might fail to comply with international, federal, regional, provincial, state or other jurisdictional regulations, due to their complexity, frequent changes or inconsistent application and interpretation."

Despite the errors, the Mississippi lawsuit said, Experian provides no straightforward way for consumers to correct erroneous blemishes affecting their credit. When consumers file a dispute, Experian reflexively finds in favor of the bank or debt collector that reported the debt, Mississippi said. And when consumers call to complain, the lawsuit said Experian employees attempt to sell consumers credit monitoring products of questionable value.

"Experian has turned its failures to maintain accurate credit reports and its refusal to investigate consumer disputes into a business opportunity," Hood, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Less information was immediately available about the separate investigation being conducted by Ohio and other states, though Republican Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has regularly criticized the credit bureaus for inadequate quality control and consumer protections. According to two people familiar with the investigation, attorneys general have demanded and received records from both Experian and its primary competitors, TransUnion and Equifax. Experian is the largest of the companies, with revenues of $4.8 billion last year. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the confidential investigation.

The key allegations in Mississippi's complaint are not entirely new: consumer advocates, plaintiffs' attorneys, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have assailed credit bureaus for inadequately addressing erroneous credit reports. According to an FTC study, 5 percent of all consumers' credit reports contain errors that could harm their ability to obtain credit.

The Mississippi complaint stands out as the first major legal action by a state against a credit bureau in recent years, however, and its litigation may pressure other states and federal agencies to take public action.

Much of Mississippi's case appears to be rooted in documents obtained directly from Experian. At the company's request, examples of allegedly inappropriate business practices were censored in the public court filing because Experian considers them a trade secret.

Experian's alleged misconduct has harmed Mississippi consumers, the lawsuit said. Because of the company's alleged failure to maintain reasonable procedures to verify credit information and correct mistakes — a violation of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act — consumers have been wrongly hounded for debts they did not owe, blocked from taking out loans and threatened with the loss of top secret military clearances.

Mississippi alleges that even simple errors in Experian files — such as a credit file that wrongly stated that a Mississippi resident described in the complaint as "Consumer 5" was dead — can prove nearly impossible to fix.

"At first, Consumer 5 and his wife thought it was funny," the complaint said. But months later, his unsuccessful efforts to fix the error cost him the ability to purchase a truck at a favorable interest rate.

In another example cited in the Mississippi complaint, a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard was denied credit and forced to buy numerous credit monitoring services due to Experian's failure to distinguish between his credit history and those of other people in his family. Mississippi also alleges that consumers have lost access to the financial system after Experian wrongly confused their credit files with those of people on a U.S. Treasury Department terrorist watch list.

At the root of Experian's misbehavior, Mississippi claims, is how the company gathers data in consumers' credit reports. The company — like its peers — builds consumer credit files out of proprietary data — such as whether a person has made regular payments on his mortgage. It also uses public records — such as whether court records list a tax lien on a person's home. Banks and other prospective creditors that subscribe to the credit bureau's service see both types of records but consumers who request their own credit reports sometimes receive only the proprietary data, leaving them in the dark about public records that can be inaccurate.

A second alleged violation of the law occurs when consumers dispute alleged inaccuracies in their credit reports. Under federal law, credit reporting bureaus are required to conduct a free, reasonable reinvestigation of consumer complaints. According to Mississippi investigators' interviews with former Experian employees and Experian's own documents, the lawsuit said, "Experian fails to conduct any — let alone a reasonable — reinvestigation of consumer disputes regarding their credit history or accounts."

Consumer advocates have argued that lax quality control and investigations of disputes is part of the credit bureaus' business model. While the deficiencies cited by Mississippi sometimes result in costly lawsuits by aggrieved consumers — an Oregon woman won an $18.6 million jury verdict against Equifax last year — such legal costs are cheaper for the credit bureaus to pay than it would be to improve their systems.

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Follow Jeff Horwitz on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffhorwitz

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