WASHINGTON (AP) — After secretive talks, key senators expressed optimism Wednesday night that they were closing in on a bipartisan agreement to dramatically toughen the border security requirements in immigration legislation that also offers a path to citizenship to millions living in the country illegally.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After secretive talks, key senators expressed optimism Wednesday night that they were closing in on a bipartisan agreement to dramatically toughen the border security requirements in immigration legislation that also offers a path to citizenship to millions living in the country illegally.

By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. congressman who has been blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's main champion in Washington said people working for New York University have tried to keep him from meeting Chen, barging into a meeting on Capitol Hill and pulling Chen out on one occasion. U.S. Representative Chris Smith, an outspoken supporter of Chinese dissidents since the 1980s, described repeated instances of various people he says were from NYU interfering in his attempts to meet with Chen. ...

(Reuters) - Fewer drivers will take to the road during the Independence Day holiday in part due to a sluggish economy, but also because people will take less time off, travel group AAA said on Thursday. The group expects 40.8 million people to travel 50 miles or more from home during the July 4 break and 34.4 million of them will drive, a drop of about 0.7 percent from the estimated 34.7 million who drove last year. ...

EVERGREEN, Colo. (AP) — A new wildfire in the foothills southwest of Denver forced the evacuation of dozens of homes Wednesday as hot and windy conditions in the West made it easy for fires to start and spread.

VERACRUZ, Mexico (AP) — Tropical Storm Barry formed off Mexico's Gulf Coast on Wednesday, prompting Mexican authorities to ready hundreds of shelters.

VERACRUZ, Mexico (AP) — Tropical Storm Barry formed off Mexico's Gulf Coast on Wednesday, prompting Mexican authorities to ready hundreds of shelters.

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — Former investigators are pushing to reopen the probe into the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, saying new evidence points to the often-discounted theory that a missile strike may have downed the jumbo jet.

NEW YORK (AP) — Financial markets shuddered Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it could start scaling back its huge economic stimulus program later this year and end it by the middle of next.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Leaders in Brazil's two biggest cities said Wednesday that they reversed an increase in bus and subway fares that ignited anti-government protests that have spread across the nation in the past week.

By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - The co-founder of the Minutemen civilian border patrol group that for several years watched for unauthorized immigrants crossing to Arizona from Mexico, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of molesting three young girls. Chris Simcox, 52, who co-founded the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps in 2005, was booked into a Maricopa County jail in connection with the molestation of three girls under the age of 10, said Sergeant Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix police spokesman. ...

By Chikako Mogi TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares tumbled to nine-month lows on Thursday as slowing Chinese manufacturing activity exacerbated sentiment already unnerved by the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke confirming the Fed would begin reducing its stimulus spending later this year. The "flash" HSBC China Purchasing Managers' Index contracted further to 48.3 in June from May's final reading of 49.2, hitting its weakest level since September as new orders faltered, reinforcing signs of tepid economic growth in the second quarter. ...

FAIRPORT, Mich. (AP) — A wooden beam that has long been the focus of the search for a 17th century shipwreck in northern Lake Michigan was not attached to a buried vessel as searchers had suspected, but still may have come from the elusive Griffin or some other ship, archaeologists said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI uses drones for surveillance of stationary subjects, and the privacy implications of such operations are "worthy of debate," FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI uses drones for surveillance of stationary subjects, and the privacy implications of such operations are "worthy of debate," FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI uses drones for surveillance of stationary subjects, and the privacy implications of such operations are "worthy of debate," FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday.

The death in Italy of James Gandolfini, who played Mafia boss Tony Soprano on the popular HBO show "The Sopranos," was part of an unusual convergence of mob-related news making headlines this week. Here's a look:

By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory activity weakened to a nine-month low in June as demand faltered, a preliminary survey showed, heightening risks that a second quarter slowdown could be sharper than expected and raising the heat on the central bank to loosen policy. The flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 48.3 in June from May's final reading of 49.2, drifting further away from the 50-point level demarcating expansion from contraction. It was the weakest level since September. ...

The death in Italy of James Gandolfini, who played Mafia boss Tony Soprano on the popular HBO show "The Sopranos," was part of an unusual convergence of mob-related news making headlines this week. Here's a look:

BEIJING (AP) — China's new leader Xi Jinping is commanding wayward Communist Party cadres to purify themselves of corruption, and he's summed it up in a pithy slogan as Mao Zedong might have done: Look in the mirror, take a bath.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp CEO Kazuo Hirai said on Thursday that the electronics firm's board will consider hedge fund Third Point's suggestion to spin-off the electronics company's profitable entertainment arm. Hirai made the comments at an annual shareholders' meeting in Tokyo. Hirai said it was important for Sony to revitalize its electronics division as well as to continue growth of its entertainment and financial businesses, which have steadily contributed profits to the overall group. (Reporting by Mari Saito; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Three people were shot to death and a fourth was critically injured Wednesday at a condominium building in Louisville, Ky., and police are saying the shootings appear to be domestic-related.

CLEVELAND (AP) — A mentally disabled mother authorities said was enslaved for two years along with her daughter spent time in jail this year after pleading guilty to beating the girl, but her attorney told a judge that her captors forced her to do it.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom said Thursday he was "in tears" after a European company deleted all the data it was hosting from his shuttered file-sharing site.

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:

TOKYO (AP) — On the Internet, no one can save you from yourself. That is a lesson many Japanese politicians have learned recently in painful, awkward and at times costly fashion.

By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - North Carolina's governor, hoping to resume executions in his state, on Wednesday signed the repeal of a law that has allowed death row inmates to seek a reduced sentence if they could prove racial bias affected their punishment. The Racial Justice Act, the only law of its kind in the United States, had led to four inmates getting their sentences changed to life in prison without parole after taking effect in 2009. ...

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman and her two daughters were charged Wednesday with murder in the death of their 32-year-old son and brother, who had Down syndrome, after officials said he was severely neglected and underfed, weighing just 69 pounds when he died.