The four were detained after the attack on a Catholic church in Arusha in north Tanzania which killed two people and wounded six.

The UAE Foreign Ministry announced that the Emiratis had been released on its Twitter account late on Sunday.

The Saudi citizen, Saeed bin Mohsen al-Mahri, was also released and was not charged with any offence, Saudi Arabia's state news agency reported late on Sunday, citing the assistant minister for foreign affairs.

The Saudi ambassador to Tanzania had said the group were in the area as tourists.

Tanzanian officials were not immediately available for comment.

Tanzania, a nation of about 45 million people, is roughly split evenly between Muslims and Christians. Tensions between the religious communities are on the rise.

Earlier this year, two Christian leaders were killed in Tanzania's semi-autonomous, predominantly Muslim islands of Zanzibar earlier this year and there have been attacks on Muslim leaders and mosques.

(Reporting by Amena Bakr; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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Stephen Curry added 22 points and Harrison Barnes scored 13 for the Warriors, who snapped a 30-game losing streak in San Antonio dating back to February 14, 1997. The best-of-seven series shifts to Golden State for Game 3 on Friday.

Tim Duncan had 23 points and nine rebounds and Tony Parker scored 20 as the Spurs suffered their first loss of the playoffs. San Antonio had overcome a 16-point deficit to win in double overtime in Game 1 but could not fight all the way back from a 19-point halftime gap in Game 2.

Parker's jumper cut the lead down to 88-82 with seven minutes left but the Spurs never managed to get any closer. Manu Ginobili's 3-pointer with 4:22 left drew the Spurs within six points again but Curry responded and San Antonio missed their next six shots as Golden State closed it out.

Thompson went 8-for-9 from beyond the arc to set a franchise record for made 3-pointers in a postseason game.

(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

Hall was among several former Atlanta educators who appeared in Fulton County Superior Court. Hall sat quietly in the gallery, standing up as her attorney J. Tom Morgan said she would waive a formal reading of the charges. The court then entered a not guilty plea on her behalf, and she left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

Hall's attorneys have promised to mount a strong defense, saying Hall was not aware of or involved in any cheating. Outside of court, Hall's attorney said he expects a number of the 35 defendants in the case will ask to be tried separately, although Hall would not be among them.

"So potentially you're going to have 35 defendants with over 50 attorneys. That will be the longest trial in Georgia history. The longest criminal trial for sure," Morgan said.

Attorneys may argue that being tried so that a jury can consider the charges against them without being influenced by allegations against co-defendants.

On Friday, Judge Jerry Baxter indicated he was inclined to have one trial and set the date for May 5, 2014.

Baxter also dismissed a request for an order barring attorneys from speaking to the media, but reminded them to follow ethical guidelines.

Several other educators appeared in court, and not guilty pleas were entered on their behalf. A small group of supporters gathered outside the courthouse with signs saying, "We support Dr. Beverly Hall and APS employees."

"It's not that I don't believe some irregularities occurred," said Mercehari Williams, a former Atlanta Public Schools educator who was outside the courthouse. "It's not that I don't believe that justice should be served and an investigation should occur and those guilty parties should be prosecuted, but I just believe that it's heavy-handed and I don't believe that we can get a fair trial when it has been tried in the media."

In March, Hall and the other 34 educators were named in a 65-count indictment that alleges a conspiracy to cheat, conceal cheating or retaliate against whistleblowers in an effort to bolster student test scores and, as a result, receive bonuses and accolades for improved student performance.

Each could face five to 20 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.

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Associated Press video journalist Johnny Clark contributed to this report. Follow Christina Almeida Cassidy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Christina.

Saunders, who has also been head coach with the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards, was appointed on a five-year deal in place of David Kahn, who was fired on Thursday.

"I've made a lot of great decisions in my life, and a lot of things in business that have worked well," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told reporters before introducing Saunders, who has been given a minority ownership stake in the franchise.

"Occasionally I've made a wrong decision and perhaps supporting Flip leaving our organization as coach is one of those things I've done wrong.

"But in the meantime, Flip has gone out and stayed in the NBA, coached for some other teams ... I just think that he can bring that as part of his overall philosophy back to our organization and make it a better organization."

Minnesota finished the 2012-13 season fourth-last in the 15-team Western Conference after posting a 31-51 record.

They have not reached the playoffs since the 2003-04 season when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

"There's no question that there's a lot of work ahead with this team," said Saunders, 58. "And what I mean by that is that when a team has been to the lottery for eight straight years and won 31 games, you have work to do.

"So we've got to roll up our sleeves and do that, but that's what Minnesota people do. Now we have talent, we have some good young talent but they by far have not reached their potential."

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Congress sifts through a growing number of requests for targeted relief from automatic spending cuts in coming weeks, advocates seeking funding shifts likely will need to tell a compelling story with potential life-or-death consequences.

Requests without such a strong selling point may find it impossible to gain enough bipartisan support as lawmakers vow not to repeat a swift and controversial action last week to save airline travelers from flight delays caused by automatic "sequestration" spending cuts.

Congress was worried about a toxic public backlash when it moved quickly to allow the Federal Aviation Administration to use some airport improvement funds to pay salaries of air traffic controllers, ending furloughs that had delayed thousands of flights across the country.

When members of Congress return from a recess on Monday, there will be no shortage of other requests to shift funds from other budget accounts awaiting them.

The National Park Service faces closures and cutbacks that will cost jobs in communities that depend on the parks as the summer travel season begins. Some 70,000 children may be shut out of the Head Start preschool program for low-income families while funding for Meals on Wheels, cancer research and some treatments for Medicare patients will be cut.

The Pentagon is expected to ask for more authority to move up to $7.5 billion within its budget to cover costs for training and military operations in Afghanistan. With troops still in harm's way, that request likely will face few objections.

More needs will pile up As the across-the-board spending cuts - $85 billion through September 30 - take hold. But most will fall on deaf ears as lawmakers insist that a comprehensive budget deal is needed to resolve sequester cuts, not individual fixes.

"With the possible exception of life-threatening issues, there will be plenty of pleas from people who represent worthy causes that get ignored," said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research, an investment consulting firm.

"It's extremely unlikely that House Republicans will be willing to grant exceptions for national parks, Meals on Wheels or teachers," he said.

The sequester cuts that took effect March 1 were conceived in 2011 as a way to force the White House and Congress to find an alternative budget deal rather than have spending cuts kick in automatically. Policymakers failed to reach such an agreement and now must deal with the fallout from the cuts, which total will total $1.2 trillion over 10 years unless replaced.

Last month's flight delays created a mix of pressure from the airline industry and constituents facing a universally loathed problem that both parties could rally around.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, however, is not inclined to pursue additional one-off measures to deal with sequester, a Democratic leadership aide said. Reid would prefer to press forward with his proposal to simply delay the cuts through September 30 in order to buy more time for a broader budget deal.

"I just don't see another one-off bill that's going to rise to the same level as flight delays," a senior House Republican aide said.

Many House Republicans also are concerned about giving the Obama administration more authority to move money between budget accounts at federal agencies, which circumvents Congress' constitutional powers to direct spending.

In the case of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Republican aide said there is concern that such budget shifts could inadvertently give the agency power to help fund implementation of Obama's healthcare reform law, which many Republicans deeply despise and want to repeal.

SAY NO TO CANCER PATIENTS?

But funding cutbacks for some Medicare cancer treatments and cancer research studies also could be difficult for many lawmakers to resist.

The most concerted effort in this area is a Republican House bill that would exempt Medicare reimbursements on expensive cancer drugs administered at doctors' offices and clinics - one of the few portions of the healthcare program for the elderly that is subject to the sequester. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would have to shift cuts in these reimbursement rates elsewhere under the measure.

The bill's author, Representative Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, a Tea Party favorite, argues that because of the sequester, oncology clinics have been sending patients to hospitals to get their drugs.

But hospital treatment costs, which are not subject to sequester, are far higher - an average increase of $6,500 per patient per year, according to one study. Ellmers argues that this circumvents the whole point of sequester spending cuts.

"We don't want to see treatments delayed, and some patients on fixed incomes might skip treatment altogether if they are forced to go across town to a hospital," said Ellmers, who spent two decades as a surgical nurse before winning a seat in Congress in 2010.

The measure has substantial bipartisan support, with 51 cosponsors including 11 Democrats. Separately, 124 House members from both parties signed a letter to the CMS director asking that "any available flexibility be used to direct the cuts away from patients."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner declined to comment on the bill's prospects for passage, referring questions about it to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

THREAT TO CANCER TRIALS

Cancer research doctors also say further sequester funding cutbacks could ultimately cost lives.

Dr. Scott Lippman, director of the University of California-San Diego Moores Cancer Center, said the sequester will mean fewer clinical trials for promising therapies, and some patients ultimately will be turned away from these trials. Research on new treatments also could be slowed.

"This going to harm patients," Lippman said. "This is going to prevent patients from getting treatments that could save their lives."

At a time when advancements in cancer research are moving very quickly with new gene-based discoveries, he said now is "not the time to be slamming on the brakes."

While no trials have been canceled yet due to sequester alone, research centers are working hard to try to cut everything else that they can, said Dr. Edward Partridge, director of the University of Alabama-Birmingham's Comprehensive Cancer Center. But the choices will be difficult.

"We will do everything we can to maintain our current clinical trial volume," he said. "Even if it's at the expense of new discovery. I hope (sequester) doesn't last too long so that we have to withdraw the possibility of clinical trials for patients. That would be a disaster."

(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Fred Barbash and Bill Trott)

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As a user, I count myself among those who are often very critical of Facebook.To be clear, I do not dislike Facebook as a company and I dont dislike the broad-stroke services it provides. For hundreds of millions of people, Facebook is an amazing product that helps them keep in touch with friends and family, plan events, play social games and plenty more. It brings the world closer together, theres no question.

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For me personally, however, its just awful.

The constant trivial updates, the recycled posts, the event invitations from people I havent spoken to in 15 years, the app invitations, the game invitations, the fact that other people can check me into places and tag me in photos that appear on my page automatically it gets infuriating.

Privacy settings help, of course, but then every time a new feature is added, users have to tweak their settings to block it. Most of the time, Im not even aware new features roll out until I get some awful email notification about something that someone else posted on my wall. Then I have to log in, block the new feature and disable email notifications for another half-dozen list items.

So why do I even have a Facebook account? Good question. Sometimes I forget the answer.

There are two main reasons. First, we use Facebooks comment system here at BGR. Though this will soon change, I need an account for the time being to moderate things every so often. Second, I do use it to communicate with old friends from time to time, and I like that people I have known throughout the years have an easy way to find me should the need arise.

It couldnt be more clear that I am not the kind of user Facebook is addressing with . Not even close. I can still see plenty of potential in Facebooks new Home software though, and I think the company is really onto something here.

First and foremost, Facebook Home is not a Facebook phone. The HTC First is also not a Facebook phone. There is no Facebook phone, despite the fact that many blogs and news organizations continue to reference the fictitious handset in headlines.

This is important. Facebook is not making a phone. The company is also not making an operating system. , and this is absolutely the right strategic decision.

Rather than make a phone and sell a few million of them at best each quarter, . The fact that Android is open source practically invites this type of invasive mobile strategy and , or company executives are putting on a happy face in public, at least.

And so Facebook has the green light to take over Android.

Facebook Home has three main components. The first is a home/lock screen replacement that cycles through images and status updates posted by your friends, the second is an app-launcher screen, and the third is Chat Heads, a new notification system that ties in with Facebooks Messenger app.

Starting with the home screen, Home is a dynamic window into the users life on Facebook that updates in real time. Images posted by friends automatically pan from side to side, refreshing every few seconds with a new photograph. Status updates appear overlaid above the photos and tapping an update brings up options to like it or post a comment.

Notifications such as wall posts and event invitations pop up in boxes at the center of the home screen as they arrive. They can be tapped twice to open the Facebook app to the appropriate screen, or swiped to the side to be dismissed.

Finally, the users profile photo appears in a circle toward the bottom of the screen. Tapping and dragging it in one of three directions allows the user to either open Facebooks Messenger app, Homes app launcher, or the most recently used application.

The app launcher is the second piece of the puzzle, and it replaces Androids standard app icon grids with one that is smaller and less attractive. It is still configurable though, and it fits up to 16 icons per page. Above the app grid are three buttons that allow the user to quickly post a status update, upload a photo, or check into a location.

The home screen interface is sleek and smart, with full-screen photos, simple fonts and a minimal feel. The app-launcher interface, on the other hand, is antiquated and odd Im really not sure why Facebook chose to waste so much space around the launcher, which only takes up about 65% of the display and wastes the rest of the screen.

Another curious note about Homes UI on the home screen and on the launcher screen: Androids status bar is hidden, along with important information like the current time, date, signal strength, remaining charge and many notifications.

Im all for moving some less important info off the screen. Windows Phone does a great job of this. But removing all of the information contained within the status bar is a bit excessive. It also means the user must swipe down twice from the top of the display to open the Android notification pane once to expose the status bar and a second time to open the pane.

The third and final element that completes the Home experience is chat heads, which are likely the most widely discussed element of Facebooks new software suite.

Falling squarely into the bells and whistles category, chat heads replace standard notifications for Facebook messages and SMS. Contacts profile photos contained within small circles pop onto the screen when messages arrive on the phone. They can be tapped to open the associated conversation in Facebooks Messenger app, or they can be playfully dragged around and repositioned if theyre blocking something on the screen.

As a whole, its very clear that Home isnt fully baked yet.Facebooks launch version of the software is fairly well made and the concept is intriguing, but I think its just a taste of the things to come.

From the users standpoint, Home is not for everyone. Its certainly not for me. But we all know plenty of people who check their Facebook news feeds every time they pick up a phone, and who constantly post photos, links and status updates. Facebook Home is for them.

For these users, Home has the potential to completely change the way they use their smartphones. The lock screen, home screen and app grids are no longer barriers standing between users and their Facebook friends. Just pick up a phone, tap the unlock button and Facebookimmediatelytakes center stage.

It should be noted, though, that the home screen and lock screen are one in the same with Facebook Home, so any security the user has in place sits behind the photos and status updates that appear on Homes main screen. In other words, even if you protect your phone with pattern or PIN code security, anyone can still pick up your phone and scroll through your friends photos and status updates.

From a business standpoint, I like Home. I like it a lot.

Taking advantage of Androids open nature as opposed to building an own-brand smartphone or a Facebook operating system is absolutely the right move. Its obvious Android smartphone sales as a whole will always dwarf sales of any one handset or any smartphone line, so why limit your reach when the only thing that matters is putting your services, and ads, in front of users eyeballs and collecting as much data as possible?

And make no mistake. Ads and data collection are key here.

Facebook launched Home without any advertising tie-in, but the company has made it clear that ads are coming. And beyond any direct revenue benefit Facebook sees from adding advertisements to Home, of course, the software itself serves a clear and important purpose: Gather data.

Home immerses users in Facebook.Facebook, Facebook and more Facebook.The moment they pick up their phones, they see Facebook photos, status updates, shared stories and more. This entices them to like stories and post comments.Moving on to the app launcher screen, nice big buttons above the application icons beckon users to post status updates, share photos and check in, thus recording their locations on Facebooks servers.

Of course, the more status updates, likes, shared photos, comments, shared links and check-ins Facebook sees, the better it can target ads. The better it can target ads, the more likely people will be to click on them and the more likely companies will be to continue advertising on Facebook.

And this reinforces the notion that Facebook made the right move by launching a new product on top of Android rather than its own platform or an own-brand phone. Why spend a huge amount of time, money, R&D and other resources building an operating system or a phone when you can launch Home using a fraction of the resources and potentially reach an exponentially larger number of users?

So in the end, I like where Facebook is going with Home despite the fact that I personally cant stand Facebook as a service.

Home has a long way to go before it can be called a finished product. New features are coming, ads are coming, and the current feature set needs refinement in a number of key areas. And the security issue mentioned above is just one of a number of oversights and poor design choices there are plenty more where that came from.

One more example: navigating Home gets a bit odd at times.Tapping the home button on your phone while in an app takes you to the app launcher page instead of the home screen. Tapping home again will then take you to the home screen. This isnt that annoying once you get used to it, but its illogical and representative of a number of irregularities. If I tap a status update on my home screen to open it in the Facebook app and leave a comment, tapping home should bring me back home.

, and it only works on four smartphone models beyond the HTC First, which launched recently with Home pre-installed. Those are solid numbers and they should grow at a brisk pace once Facebook makes Home available on a wider range of handsets.

In the meantime, Home is a glimpse of things to come. Facebooks mobile strategy isnt about launching its own devices and competing with juggernauts like Apple and Samsung. Facebooks mission is to make every phone a Facebook phone, and Home is a big step toward realizing that goal.

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Moss hit his second home run of the night with two outs in the bottom of the 19th inning to give Oakland a 10-8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels early Tuesday in the longest major league game of the season.

"It was a crazy game and I'm glad it's over," Moss said. "That was exhausting, it really was."

The teams were on the field for 6 hours, 32 minutes in a marathon game that ended at 1:41 a.m. on the West Coast. By time, it was the longest game ever played in Oakland and the longest in Angels history.

Oakland slugger Yoenis Cespedes singled off the left-center wall against closer Ernesto Frieri to drive in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Los Angeles went ahead 8-7 in the 15th on Brett Anderson's bases-loaded walk to J.B. Shuck, but the A's tied it in the bottom half on Adam Rosales' two-out single off Jerome Williams after a costly error by Angels first baseman Albert Pujols.

Pujols homered twice earlier in the game and finished with four hits and three RBIs. Mark Trumbo also went deep for the Angels and added a two-run double.

As the game dragged on deep into the night, fans who remained in the scattered crowd of 11,668 chanted the names of Oakland's radio announcers, Ray Fosse and Ken Korach. One player in the Angels dugout wore a rally cap folded in half, with the bill sticking straight up like a mohawk.

But it was the A's who finally pulled it out on Moss' two-run shot.

"It's one of those things where you just want to quit, but at the same time you don't want to lose so you're not going to quit," Moss said. "You just keep fighting through and keep hoping they throw a ball into your bat. I don't even know how I hit it. I was so late on everything after the 10th inning on. If it was thigh-high or up I couldn't catch it, so I was just trying to get anything down in the zone. Both teams tonight battled so hard."

Seth Smith drew a leadoff walk from Barry Enright (0-1) in the 19th and, two outs later, Moss drove an 0-1 pitch to right for his fourth homer of the year.

Josh Hamilton jumped at the fence, but the ball sailed well beyond his reach.

"You're always going to have your share of frustrating games over the course of a season. This one was extremely frustrating," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Everybody gave it everything they had. It's frustrating when you don't put the outs together to hold the lead."

Enright, normally a starter, was called up from the minors Thursday and was making his first big league appearance of the season.

"It was a changeup," he said. "He swung through the first one and I wanted to make it more down but it hooked over the middle. I was trying to extend the game and I made a bad pitch."

Jerry Blevins (2-0) worked 1 2-3 scoreless innings for the victory.

It was the longest game in the majors since the Pittsburgh Pirates won 6-3 in 19 innings at St. Louis on Aug. 19 last year, according to STATS. But it wasn't the only baseball marathon of the night.

The Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 4-3 in 15 innings in a game that took 5 hours, 31 minutes, and ended about 12:45 a.m. on the East Coast.

Turned out, that was a breeze compared to what the Angels and A's had in store.

And all that baseball took a toll on both teams.

Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos was removed with a strained left hamstring and is headed to the disabled list. Third baseman Luis Jimenez came out with a bruised left shin.

Oakland lost center fielder Coco Crisp to a strained left hamstring and outfielder Chris Young to a strained left quadriceps.

Brett Anderson was originally scheduled to start for the A's but was scratched with a sore right ankle in favor of Dan Straily. Anderson entered to start the 13th and pitched 5 1-3 innings before hobbling off the field with an apparent foot injury.

Blevins, the last reliever in the Oakland bullpen, was given as much time as he needed to warm up. He retired Mike Trout and Pujols to end the top of the 18th inning.

"Good game to win, bad game to lose," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "I mean, we exhausted everything we had obviously. Blevins probably has one more inning, then you might be looking at Seth Smith on the mound."

Moss hit a solo homer in the sixth and the A's scored four times in the eighth, two on Josh Donaldson's single, to close the gap to 7-6.

Angels reliever Jerome Williams did not allow an earned in six innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out two.

Tommy Hanson pitched six strong innings for Los Angeles, allowing two runs and five hits. He walked one and struck out a season-high six in his first start since being activated from the bereavement list.

Called up to fill in for Anderson, Straily lasted 4 2-3 innings. He gave up six runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out six.

Pujols homered for the first time in three weeks, when he also hit two at Texas on April 7, a span of 74 at-bats. He had three hits in his previous 31 at-bats.

Hanson pitched for the first time in 10 days. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 11 before allowing a run in the fourth.

Pujols homered with two outs in the first and Trumbo led off the second with his fourth of the season. He hit it with such force the drive was estimated at 475 feet that every A's player remained stationary, not even bothering with a cursory glance.

John Jaso's RBI single brought the A's to 2-1, but the Angels rallied for four runs in the fifth, with Pujols and Hamilton driving in runs and Trumbo knocking in two with a double. Pujols homered again in the seventh.

Bourjos went 0 for 4, was hit by a pitch and added a sacrifice bunt, ending his 10-game hitting streak. He was injured running out the bunt in the 10th.

"It (stinks) to play this long into the night and come out on the wrong end," Bourjos said.

NOTES: Angels INF Erick Aybar (bruised left heel) had two hits, a double and a home run, in his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Salt Lake. ... RHP Mark Lowe (neck strain) and INF Alberto Callaspo (tight right calf) will start a rehab assignment with Inland Empire on Tuesday. ... RHP Garrett Richards (1-1, 3.65 ERA) starts Tuesday night for the Angels against RHP Jarrod Parker (0-4, 8.10), whose four losses match an Oakland record for April. ... Donaldson was chosen AL player of the week. ... Pujols had his 46th career multihomer game. ... RHP Jesse Chavez was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to make room for Straily. ... Joe Rudi, in 1972, was the last A's player to end a game with a home run in the 19th inning. ... There were 138 at-bats and 589 pitches thrown.

NEW YORK (AP) -- He's rock royalty and likes to keep it old-school: Keith Richards says he doesn't own an iPod.

The Rolling Stones guitarist says he isn't a fan of the ultra-popular music device.

"I don't have an iPod. ... I still use CDs or records actually. Sometimes cassettes. It has much better sound; a much better sound than digital," he said in a recent interview.

The 69-year-old believes music lovers are "all being shortchanged" with the sound that comes out of an iPod, launched in 2001 by Apple Inc.

"My old lady's got one. My kids have got them. I say, 'Look me up this.' Or, 'Oh I like that. Check me that,'" he said. "I know what these things can do. I'm not totally anti-them."

The Rolling Stones' "50 & Counting Tour" kicks off Friday in Los Angeles. The Stones released their self-titled debut in 1964, and while Richards has accepted that the music industry is digitally driven today, he's not completely OK with it.

"They're sucked into it and they can't get out of it, nor can we; so is the public," he said. "There's something missing there, but it's the price of the future I guess."

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin

Super-strong versions of Bounty paper towels are on tap, as are new flavors of Oscar Mayer bologna, all in an effort to squeeze out fresh sales from old brands.

Consumers might be cutting back on major purchases in light of higher payroll taxes and gasoline prices, but they still need the basics and turn to brands they know. That is why companies ranging from Procter & Gamble Coand Colgate-Palmolive Coto Kraft Foods Group Incand Campbell Soup Counveiled updated versions of existing products at the recent Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference.

"They're playing it safe in a tough consumer environment, which probably reduces any major risk for investors and for themselves," Credit Suisse analyst Michael Steib said of the household products makers' push.

It takes less effort to promote brands that shoppers already know, as opposed to something completely new. Companies are all too familiar with that bumpy road.

In 2011, 81 percent of the hundreds of newly launched consumer packaged goods failed to hit $7.5 million in first-year sales, according to industry research firm SymphonyIRI. The top-selling products of 2011 used existing brand names, according to the firm's "Pacesetters" list.

A Brand Keys survey of 39,000 American adults in January showed that goods such as P&G's Pampers diapers and Colgate toothpaste had high brand loyalty.

But the value of brands in areas such as facial moisturizer, hair color, shampoo, conditioner and laundry detergent has declined to the point where shoppers make their selections based on convenience and not loyalty, Brand Keys President Robert Passikoff said.

P&G, the world's largest household products company, is one of several manufacturers launching goods under existing brands. Its lineup includes several "change innovations," or fresh products that build on established brands, such as last year's single-dose Tide Pods laundry detergent.

RESTRUCTURING FUNDS

Companies such as P&G, Colgate, Energizer Holdings Incand Newell Rubbermaid Incare poised to use funds from restructurings announced since early 2012 to spend more on marketing their latest goods.

"They probably feel better about the consumer, and therefore think that new products can actually succeed," said JP Morgan analyst John Faucher.

Marketing spending continues to rise, but budgets can be kept in check as companies take advantage of digital and social media that cost less than traditional television and print campaigns and make concerted choices about where to spend.

Kraft, for example, said it increased its marketing spending from about $5 million per product launch to about $25 million per big bet. For the MiO water enhancer line it launched in 2011 and continues to expand, it spent over $50 million on advertising and consumer support.

"It looks like there are a lot of plans to spend behind the innovation once you actually put it out there ... to really nurture it out of the gate for the first two or three years," said Wells Fargo food industry analyst John Baumgartner.

SAME BRANDS, NEW FLAVORS

Companies are trying to tweak some products to provide more for the same money. Clorox Co , for example, put grooves into its Kingsford charcoal, which cut the weight of the product by 7 percent but added surface area and therefore improved the performance even while reducing Clorox's materials costs.

This year, even Kraft's Oscar Mayer bologna is getting a flavor reboot, with a bacon-infused variety as well as a jalapeno version. Campbell Soup is testing Bolthouse Farms Baby Carrot Shakedowns, which feature salsa, ranch or chili lime flavoring for consumers to sprinkle on the carrots.

P&G is updating its Bounty paper towel line, bringing out a new cloth-like Bounty DuraTowel, which it claims leaves surfaces three times cleaner than if they were wiped with a used dishcloth. It is making its mainstream Bounty twice as absorbent and the lower-priced Bounty Basic 50 percent stronger.

Clorox Chief Executive Don Knauss said his company made a point of making product development part of each brand's push more than two years ago, when basic categories such as home care were facing declines.

Kraft, meanwhile, is fleshing out a "good, better, best" strategy for its products and emphasizing the lower and upper tiers, as middle-class consumers are getting squeezed.

That means new kinds of basic Kool-Aid Jammers drinks for $1.79, as well as Capri Sun Super V drinks, which have vegetable juice and cost $2.99. New flavors for Kraft's 99-cent cup of Velveeta Shells and Cheese include Queso Blanco. It will also add to the Velveeta Cheesy Skillets meals line that costs $3.49.

Whatever forms the new products take, executives say companies need to spend their way out of the malaise.

"Companies' success is much more dependent on what they do as opposed to the environment they're in," Newell CEO Mike Polk said in an interview. "You've got to adjust your agenda to the reality of the moment you're in."

(This story has been fixed to delete an extraneous comma in the eighth paragraph)

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago and Boca Raton, Florida; Additional reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Ben Berkowitz and Dan Grebler)