The US is sounding the warning against sectarian warfare inside Syria, where a fight has been raging since the start of the uprising 17 months ago. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

 

“Those who are attempting to exploit the misery of the Syrian people either by sending in proxies or sending in terrorist fighters must recognize that that will not be tolerated first and foremost by the Syrian people.”

 

Clinton spoke in the South African Capital Pretoria, her latest stop in her tour of Africa. 

 

In Egypt, the funeral for 16 Egyptian soldiers killed this weekend was expected to unite a nation in grief. Instead, as NPR's Leila Fadel reports, anger erupted largely targeted at Egypt's new Islamic President Mohammed Morsi.

 

A woman wails in a crowd of mourners outside AI-Rashdan Mosque. The coffins are paraded through the streets, draped in Egyptian flags. It was a black day when Morsi came to rule, she cries. Around her, people chant for the fall of the once banned Muslim brotherhood, the Islamist group to which Morsi belongs. He declared three days of mourning. But he didn't show, reportedly for security reasons. His prime minister dead, and frustrated Egyptians took their anger out on him. They flung shoes at him and drove him away. They accuse Morsi of relaxing Egyptian border security in the Sinai with Gaza, where fellow Islamists Hamas rule. The brotherhood accuses Israel of being involved in the attack to embarrass Egypt's leadership. Leila Fadel, NPR News, Cairo.

 

Officials at Chevron Corporation’s Richmond California oil refinery are trying to determine the cause of a toxic fire that shut down the state's second-largest refinery last night. Details from NPR's Richard Gonzales. 

 

The fires started at about 6:30 PM local time with a leak at a diesel processing unit that had produced the column of thick black smoke that drifted over residential neighbourhoods about ten miles northeast of San Francisco. A shelter-in-place order remained in effect for about five hours. The main fire was extinguished. But Chevron refinery officials say a small controlled fire continues to burn. There were no major injures, but three employees suffered minor burns. Chevron officials have issued an apology to the local community for the fire, but they have not released information on what kinds of toxic chemicals were emitted. The refinery fire is expected to boost already high gas prices on the West Coast. Richard Gonzales, NPR News, San Francisco. 

 

This is NPR.

 

Some encouraging news out today on employment. The Labor Department is reporting 3.8 million job openings were posted in June. That's the most in four years. However, overall hiring continues to be sluggish. 

 

Ernesto is now a hurricane. The storm gained strength today in the Western Caribbean and is turning toward Mexico. The National Hurricane Center says that Ernesto has top winds of 80 miles per hour. It threatened to unleash powerful winds and torrential rains near Mexico's border with Belize. Hundreds of residents in the fishing village of Punta Allen have been evacuated.  

 

American Aly Raisman wrapped up the artistic gymnastics competition at the London Olympics today with a gold medal in the floor exercise. As NPR's Howard Berkes reports, Raisman also turned her fourth-place finish in the balance beam into a bronze medal after a protest.

 

Aly Raisman had the best day among American gymnasts. The bronze in the balance beam came after Raisman questioned the scoring in an initial fourth-place finish. A slight adjustment put her in third. An hour later, she won her second gold medal of the London Games with her performance in the floor exercise. That's a first for American women. Teammate Jordyn Wieber stepped out of bounds twice in the event and finished seventh. Wieber arrived in London as world champion in the all-around. She leaves with a team gold but no individual medals. Gabby Douglas ends the competition with a seventh place in the balance beam. Still she leaves London with two gold medals. Howard Berkes, NPR News, London.

 

Stocks up for a third day with the Dow gaining 68 points at 13,186; NASDAQ up 29 at 3,019; and the S&P 500 up nine points.