AP - Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July.

AP - Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt arrived in France to a hero's welcome Friday after six years being held by leftist rebels in the Colombian jungle.

AP - President Bush invoked the memory of Thomas Jefferson Friday in welcoming new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at Monticello, saying "I'll be proud to call you a fellow American."

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 - Barack Obama is celebrating the 4th of July in Butte, Montana, attending a parade and picnic. It's a state that usually gives its three electoral votes to a Republican. Only two Democrats have carried Montana since 1948. Republicans typically take it for granted and Democrats usually write if off. But this year, Obama is spending a sizeable amount of time and money to try to win it.

AP - Fireworks aren't the only thing skyrocketing on this Fourth of July. The price of gas has hit another all-time high.

AP - He's gone from hot-dog top dog to underdog. Renowned competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi is aiming to chomp his way back to the top of the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating competition on Coney Island after a disappointing three-dog loss last year shattered his six-year winning streak.

AP - Dismissing privacy concerns, a federal judge overseeing a $1 billion copyright-infringement lawsuit against YouTube has ordered the popular online video-sharing service to disclose who watches which video clips and when.

AP - Larry Harmon wasn't the original Bozo the Clown, but he was the real one. Harmon, who portrayed the wing-haired clown for more than half a century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure, said his publicist, Jerry Digney. He was 83.

AP - Roger Federer beat Marat Safin in straight sets Friday, leaving him one win from his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam championship.

Reuters - Jesse Helms, a die-hard anti-communist firebrand who championed a wide range of conservative causes as a U.S. senator from North Carolina for 30 years, died early on Friday, aged 86, his foundation said.

Reuters - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt landed in Paris on Friday to an emotional welcome from President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had made her release from captivity in the Colombian jungle a foreign policy priority.

Reuters - President Robert Mugabe said on Friday that although he accepted the need for negotiations to end Zimbabwe's crisis, the opposition must drop their claim to power and accept that he was the country's leader.

Reuters - Iran responded on Friday to an incentives package offered by six world powers aimed at resolving a standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions, the official IRNA news agency said.

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waded into controversy on Thursday over his plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq, first saying he might "refine" his views but later declaring his stance had remained unchanged for more than a year.

Reuters - Poland rejected as insufficient on Friday a U.S. offer to boost its air defenses in return for basing a "missile shield" on its territory but said it remained open to further talks with Washington.

Reuters - G8 leaders aim to present a united front against global inflation, driven by soaring oil and food prices, at a summit in Japan next week, but solving the problem requires more than just a strong message from rich nations.

Reuters - About 50 people were wounded early on Friday by a home-made bomb that sprayed nuts and bolts into a crowd at an open-air concert in Belarus's capital attended by long-time ruler President Alexander Lukashenko, officials said.

AFP - Freed Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt said Friday she owed her life to France as President Nicolas Sarkozy gave her a hero's welcome to Paris, turning the page on her six-year hostage ordeal.

AFP - Robert Mugabe ruled out the prospect of talks with his opponents on ending Zimbabwe's political crisis Friday unless they acknowledged his victory in a one-man presidential election.