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Republican leaders who believe that making the party dominant nationally hinges on accepting a more welcoming immigration policy, one that would attract more Hispanic voters. A bill that would make it easier for people living in the country illegally to obtain legal status is being debated by a Senate committee.
• Key Republicans are supporting the idea, including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky, likely 2016 presidential candidates, and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the party's vice presidential nominee in 2012.
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• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A California law that created an agency to oversee national health care reforms granted it sweeping authority to conceal spending on the contractors that will perform most of its functions, creating a barrier from public disclosure that stands out nationwide.
• The degree of secrecy afforded Covered California appears unique among states attempting to establish their own health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's signature health law.
• An Associated Press review of the 16 other states that have opted for state-run marketplaces shows the California agency was given powers that are the most restrictive in what information is required to be made public.
• In Massachusetts, the state that served as the model for Obama's health overhaul, its Health Connector program is specifically covered by open-records laws, rather than providing exemptions from them, as is the case for contracting in California.
• In Idaho, where its exchange was established as a private, nonprofit corporation, and in New Mexico, agencies specifically must comply with open-records laws. The Maryland Legislature subjected its exchange to the state's public information act, but protected some types of commercial and financial information.
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• CHICAGO (AP) -- When Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a

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