AP - Independence Day is normally a booming time for tourism here, with visitors settling into cliffside vacation homes or trekking out to campgrounds nestled among the redwoods. But this year, the only out-of-towners in Big Sur are firefighters working around the clock to save the storied community from flames.

AP - President Bush will spend some time this July 4th at the home of the man who virtually wrote the Declaration of Independence. Bush plans to visit Thomas Jefferson's hilltop home, Monticello, in Charlottesville, Va. He'll taking part in Monticello's annual naturalization ceremony, addressing 76 new American citizens.

Reuters - World stocks slipped back towards this week's five-month low on Friday as steadying oil prices failed to erase concerns about slowing economic growth and rising inflation, and as banking stocks came under renewed pressure.

Reuters - Goldman Sachs said the European banks sector needs to raise about 60 billion to 90 billion euros, or withhold one year of dividends, to reach an aggregate Tier I ratio of 9 percent -- a level achieved by European banks that have recapitalized recently.

AP - A spot in her seventh Wimbledon final already secured, Venus Williams headed back to Centre Court to catch the end of the next match. Scouting? Not really. More like rooting — for her sister.

AP - Gilbert Arenas has agreed to re-sign with the Washington Wizards for $111 million over six years, essentially taking millions less so that his team could have more financial flexibility, two newspapers reported Thursday.

AP - NEW YORK (AP) — A-Rod and the Material Girl? That's a lot of hits. Reports that Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez and Madonna have become close just as their marriages are disintegrating have both the celebrity gossip industry and the sporting world — each a chatty bunch — buzzing with questions about the two "friends."

AP - Larry Harmon wasn't the original Bozo the Clown, but he was the real one.