With golden confetti raining on their heads and "Party in the U.S.A" ringing in their ears, it must have been hard for the U.S. basketball players to hear anything.

Doesn't matter. They had stopped listening long ago.

Samsung Electronics Co. has accused senior executives from rival LG Electronics Inc. of vandalizing its washing machines at stores in Germany earlier this month and has asked for an official investigation.

In a statement Sunday, Samsung said it had asked the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to investigate executives from a South Korean company who were seen damaging Samsung washing machines displayed at shopping malls in Berlin. A Samsung spokesman confirmed that the Korean company referred to was LG.

Officials in Northern California are accusing a nudist resort of stealing water during the state's historic drought.

The San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/1xRDM6S ) reports that rangers with the Midpeninsula Open Space District descended on Lupin Lodge near Los Gatos on Thursday, saying the clothing-optional resort was illegally taking water from a nearby upstream waterfall.

Miss New York Kira Kazantsev won the Miss America pageant Sunday night, with the help of a red plastic cup.

For her talent performance, Kazantsev sang Pharrell Williams' "Happy" while sitting cross-legged on the stage and banging a red plastic cup on the floor. That immediately touched off a furor on social media networks, where many were critical of her performance.

After a disastrous World Cup for Spain, goalkeeper Iker Casillas is now feeling the pressure to turn things around at Real Madrid.

Casillas appeared to be the target of jeers from some Madrid fans — while others chanted his name in support — during Madrid's 2-1 loss Saturday to crosstown rival Atletico Madrid.

Officials at the Nebraska Medical Center where an American aid worker infected with Ebola is being treated say the patient is getting his appetite back.

Dr. Rick Sacra was flown to the Omaha, Nebraska, hospital on Sept. 5 for treatment in the hospital's specialized 10-bed isolation unit.

Barcelona says Lionel Messi has recovered from a leg injury and has been included in its squad for Saturday's Spanish league match against Athletic Bilbao.

Messi had been sidelined since Aug. 31 when he hurt a right leg muscle during Barcelona's 1-0 win at Villarreal. He played the entire game but Barcelona said afterward he had sustained an injury.

A county government building in southern New Mexico stinks.

And the Alamogordo Daily News reports (http://goo.gl/d6RtjW) that Otero County officials are deciding whether to relocate staff that can no longer put up with the putrid smell in the Administration Annex Building's basement.

Body odor is among 52 criteria that officials at San Diego International Airport use to judge taxi drivers. Taxi drivers say that smacks of prejudice and discrimination.

For years, inspectors with the San Diego Regional Airport Authority run down their checklist for each cabbie — proof of insurance, functioning windshield wipers, adequate tire treads, good brakes. Drivers are graded pass, fail or needs fixing.

British bank HSBC has agreed to pay $550 million to resolve U.S. claims that it misled U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about risky mortgage securities it sold them before the housing market collapsed in 2007.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, announced the settlement Friday with HSBC. London-based HSBC is Europe's largest bank and also has extensive operations in the U.S. Its U.S. division has about $289 billion in assets, making it the 9th largest bank in the U.S.