PARIS (Reuters) - The French find their new first lady, Valerie Trierweiler, to be down-to-earth compared to her former supermodel predecessor, but distant, a poll released on Friday said. The Paris Match reporter took on her new role on Tuesday when her partner Francois Hollande became president, replacing Nicolas Sarkozy. While Sarkozy had earned the nickname of "president bling bling" for a brash style and connections with the rich-and-famous, Hollande has styled himself "Mr. Normal". ...

HILLSBOROUGH, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney returned to his economic message on Friday, highlighting a "bridge to nowhere" rebuilt by stimulus money and warning the U.S. economy could suffer a fiscal crisis like California's if he is not elected in November. Rising in the polls this week, Romney is eager to follow through by hammering at the White House's handling of the weak economy. ...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela has sent a third shipment of diesel to Syria, the energy minister said on Friday, underscoring President Hugo Chavez's support of the Middle East country despite its intensified crackdown on protesters. Earlier this year, Venezuela's government said it had sent at least two shipments of fuel to Syria, potentially undermining Western sanctions as a rare supplier to the increasingly isolated regime of President Bashar al-Assad. ...

Mitt and Ann Romney are opening their personal checkbooks as wide as allowed to their presidential campaign's joint fund with the Republican National Committee.

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - The Oregon state board of education has banned public schools from using American Indian names and mascots for their athletic teams, out of a concern they disparage native American people. The move is believed to be one of the nation's most sweeping prohibitions of its kind in favor of native Americans who say their culture is stereotyped by a number of sports teams. It follows years of controversy surrounding a range of teams, from the Cleveland Indians in Major League Baseball to the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. ...