The beach bums of Tripoli say that no matter who's in charge of Libya, they'll still be at the beach. Faisal Ali Kabi was here the night that former dictator Moammar Ghadafi was ousted, and Kabi remains, renting equipment to tourists, even as things around him change. NPR's Leila Fadel sends this postcard from Tripoli.
LONDON (AP) — Billie Jean King believes Wimbledon finalists Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard are creating one of the most exciting times in women's tennis in decades.
King ought to know. She helped start the Women's Tennis Association more than 40 years ago.
The 24-year-old Kvitova of the Czech Republic won the 2011 Wimbledon title. She'll face the 20-year-old Bouchard, who will play in her — and Canada's — first Grand Slam final on Saturday.
They're from a generation of fitter and stronger players who have "closed the gap on power and belief" with their older contemporaries, King said at a news conference during Wimbledon.
"They have definitely caught up," King said. "Women have more confidence overall, Serena (Williams) is not in the same place as she was, she's a little more vulnerable.
"The men have had their 'Top 4.' Now we've got a lot of younger women who want to be here. They like the show time."
Here are five things to know about the big show Saturday on Centre Court:
WHAT A YEAR: Bouchard was the only woman to have advanced to all three Grand Slam tournament semifinals this year, and now she's taken it another step. She's received support from her home country, prime ministers and mayors, along with "The Big Bang Theory" actor Jim Parsons. She finished 2013 ranked 32nd, and she's projected to improve to No. 7 — the highest ranking for a Canadian woman — by reaching the final. She would be the youngest Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova won the 2006 U.S. Open at 19.
ONLY MEETING: Kvitova and Bouchard have played just once. They faced off on hard courts in Toronto, with Kvitova an easy winner 6-3, 6-2.
NEW GENERATION: The final Saturday is the first to feature two players born in the 1990s. Kvitova is the only player born in that decade to win a Grand Slam — her 2011 title here — while Bouchard is the fourth player born in the '90s to reach a Grand Slam final. The others are French Open runner-up Simona Halep (who lost to Bouchard in the semifinals) and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, the 2009 U.S. Open runner-up.
KVITOVA'S THOUGHTS: "Bouchard is playing very solid game. She's a very good mover. She's nearby the baseline. I think it's very similar to my game. I beat her for the first time last year, but it's long time ago. This is totally different. So, I mean, I really have to be focusing on everything and try to push her."
BOUCHARD'S PLAN: "She has good shots which are very powerful compared perhaps to opponents I played in the tournament. I think she will try to attack, but I will try to do the same thing. I think both of us will try to put pressure on each other. I think it will be important to start the points well on serve and on return. It will be the first shots that decide the match."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Celebrating the ethnic diversity of America, President Barack Obama said more than two dozen foreign-born service members who became U.S. citizens at the White House on the Fourth of July are vivid reminders that welcoming immigrants "is central to our way of life."
He pleaded anew for new immigration policies, saying the vast range of backgrounds and experiences that has made America a melting pot for more than 200 years also makes the country stronger. He argued that the system must be retooled for the U.S. to remain the greatest nation on earth.
"The basic idea of welcoming immigrants to our shores is central to our way of life, it is in our DNA," Obama said after the 25 service members representing 15 countries raised their right hands and pledged allegiance to the United States.
"From all these different strands, we make something new here in America. And that's why, if we want to keep attracting the best and brightest from beyond our borders, we're going to have to fix our immigration system, which is broken," he said. "Pass common-sense immigration reform.
The immigration issue is earning renewed attention because of the influx to the U.S. of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America. Under U.S. law, they must be returned to their home countries, angering immigration advocates who already take issue with Obama's enforcement of deportations. They want Obama to allow the children to stay.
At the same time, Obama blames House Republicans for delaying action on legislation covering the millions already living in the U.S. illegally. A comprehensive measure the Senate passed last summer has been blocked by House leaders who also have done little to advance their own immigration proposals.
Obama announced earlier this week that, as a result of inaction on Capitol Hill, he will pursue non-legislative ways he can adjust U.S. immigration policy on his own. He scheduled a trip to Texas next week, mostly to raise money for Democratic candidates, but plans not to visit the border.
"I'm going to keep doing everything I can to keep making our immigration system smarter and more efficient," Obama said Friday.
Across the country, more than 100 demonstrators, most of whom support immigrants, gathered again Friday outside a U.S. Border Patrol station in Murrieta, California, where the agency intends to process some of the immigrants who have flooded the Texas border with Mexico.
Earlier this week a crowd of protesters blocked buses carrying women and children migrants who were flown in from overwhelmed Texas facilities. The Border Patrol had to take the migrants elsewhere.
At the White House on Friday evening, Obama and his wife, Michelle, were also welcoming a larger group of service members, including the new citizens, to an all-American barbecue on the South Lawn, along with prime seating for the fireworks on the National Mall.
"Together, all of you remind us that America is and always has been a nation of immigrants," Obama told those at the naturalization ceremony.
Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban who became a naturalized citizen in 1973, administered the oath of allegiance.
At the ceremony, Mayorkas also recognized internationally known celebrity chef and restaurateur Jose Andres for outstanding achievements by a naturalized U.S. citizen. Born in Spain, the 44-year-old Andres became a citizen last November and works with soup kitchens in Washington and Los Angeles.
Obama had another reason to celebrate on Friday. His oldest daughter, Malia, turned 16.
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RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Arthur gained strength in the Atlantic on Thursday and threatened to strike near the North Carolina coast on Independence Day, prompting thousands of vacationers and residents to leave parts of the state's popular but flood-prone Outer Banks.
Nichole Specht, 27, and Ryan Witman, 28, had pre-loaded their Honda CRV and left Hatteras Island at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, beating the expected traffic jam. The island was under an evacuation order, with no traffic allowed in. Officials asked an estimated 35,000 residents and travelers to leave through North Carolina Route 12, the only road on and off Hatteras.
Specht and Witman found the road wide open for their return home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Specht said her parents left their rental later, at 5 a.m., and also found clear sailing.
"We were just saying we were really, really lucky this year that the weather was so great, and then this," Specht said as she ended a two-week vacation that included scouting sites for the couple's wedding next year.
Forecasters expect Arthur speed up to a Category 2 storm and pass over or near the Outer Banks — a 200-mile string of narrow barrier islands with about 57,000 permanent residents — early Friday, bringing rain, heavy winds, storm surge and dangerous rip tides.
Before the storm hit, tourism officials had expected 250,000 people to travel to the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend. Gov. Pat McCrory warned people: "Don't put your stupid hat on," urging them to put safety before picnics, barbecues and pre-paid beach cottage vacations.
But some visitors stayed put, hopeful the fast-moving storm would follow predictions to pass through Friday and salvage the rest of the weekend. About 20 miles north of the only bridge off Hatteras, Sean Fitzgerald and his 5-year-old son, Cade, enjoyed a sunny morning lounging in beach chairs in the town of Kill Devil Hills.
The sand was dotted with tourists. A handful of surfers took to the water. Like all areas north of Oregon Inlet, Kill Devils Hills wasn't under an evacuation. Fitzgerald said he saw no need to disrupt his family's vacation.
"I plan to sit on the beach as long as the sun is here," then head out for a seafood dinner, said Fitzgerald, 44, of Fairfax, Virginia.
Those who don't evacuate should prepare for possibly getting stuck for several days without food, water or power, National Hurricane Center forecaster Stacy Stewart said Thursday.
"We want the public to take this system very seriously, go ahead and start their preparations because time is beginning to run out," he said.
Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic season, prompted a hurricane warning for much of the North Carolina coast. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for coastal areas in South Carolina and Virginia. On the Outer Banks' Ocracoke Island, accessible only by ferry, a voluntary evacuation was underway. Officials said ferry service would end at 5 p.m.
Before sunset Wednesday on Route 12, a long line of cars, trailers and recreational vehicles formed a steady stream of traffic. The road has been sliced apart twice in recent years as storms cut temporary channels from the ocean to the sound. N.C. 12 is easily blocked by sand and water.
Officials called the evacuation for Hatteras Island residents and visitors mandatory, but some residents were likely to stay, as in past storms.
Mike Rabe of Virginia Beach, Virginia, planned to remain in his Outer Banks beach home the entire weekend. He and his wife, Jan, stowed lawn furniture and anything else that could be tossed about by winds, then planned to help a neighbor.
"I'm going to ride it out," Rabe, 53, said.
The holiday weekend was not expected to be a complete loss on the Outer Banks. Forecasters said the storm would move through quickly with the worst of the weather near Cape Hatteras about dawn Friday. Then it was expected to clear. The National Hurricane Center predicted Arthur would start to weaken Friday night.
Farther north, the annual Boston Pops Fourth of July concert and fireworks show was moved up a day because of potential heavy rain ahead of Hurricane Arthur. Organizers and public safety officials said the celebration was rescheduled for Thursday, which appeared to be the best of two potential bad weather days. Other cities along the East Coast warned of weather condition and potentially life-threatening rip currents.
Late Thursday morning, Arthur was about 260 miles (415 kilometers) southwest of Cape Hatteras and moving north around 14 mph (22 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph).
If Arthur makes landfall in the U.S. on Friday, it would be the first hurricane to do so on July Fourth, according to National Hurricane Center research that goes back to the 1850s.
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Associated Press writers Martha Waggoner in Raleigh, N.C.; Tony Winton in Miami; and Matt Small in Washington contributed to this report.
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Emery Dalesio can be reached at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio .