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self a Republican, but she still often votes for GOP candidates. That's partly because of their tough stands against illegal immigration, which the retired teacher's aide blames for ruining her Southern California hometown and fears could threaten the Colorado mountain community where she now lives.
• But Lich and voters like her are watching with despair as more and more Republican politicians edge toward a bipartisan plan that includes a pathway to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. "If the GOP agrees on this amnesty, they're selling out their core values," Lich said. "They'd lose us. They'd lose the votes of people who support them, and they're not going to gain a lot of votes."
• Demographics and election returns are pushing Republican leaders away from people like Lich. In 2007, a grass-roots rebellion led Republicans to reject then-President George W. Bush's immigration overhaul because it included a process in which otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants could eventually become U.S. citizens. Activists derided the provision as an "amnesty." After tea party groups toppled various Republicans in primaries over their dovish immigration stands, the party's rhetoric and proposals became increasingly tough.
• That's changed since the drubbing the GOP took last November. Mitt Romney received underwhelming support from voters in the two fastest-growing minority groups: 27 percent of Hispanic voters and an even smaller share from Asians, according to exit polls. In contrast, George W. Bush won an estimated 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in his 2004 re-election.
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• ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) -- As rain pelted down, Kandi Cash trudged through the splintered debris of her grandparents' house, hoping to salvage photos and other prized family keepsakes after a day of violent storms raked the Southeast, leaving two people dead.
• The demolished home was one of many in the Georgia city of Adairsville splintered by a massive storm front that tore across several states Wednesday, unleashing tornadoes and dangerous winds that easily flipped cars and trucks and smashed homes and businesses.
• On the lot where Cash's grandparents had their house also was a mobile home where her aunt lived. The property also had another small house her cousin was fixing up to move into after a planned May wedding. All three homes were demolished:

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