(Continued from page 27)

• "We informed them of the potential loss of their loved ones," said Quebec police inspector Michel Forget, who came to an afternoon news briefing from a meeting with families of the dead and missing. "You have to understand that it's a very emotional moment."
• Edward Burkhardt, the head of the train's U.S.-based parent company blamed the engineer for failing to set the brakes properly before the unmanned Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway train hurtled down a seven-mile (11-kilometer) incline, derailed and ignited in the center of Lac-Megantic early Saturday. All but one of its 73 cars was carrying oil, and at least five exploded.
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Republicans are embracing a step-by-step approach to immigration, in contrast to the sweeping plan passed by the Senate and backed by the White House. But they're offering neither specifics nor a timetable -- nor any mention of possible citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country unlawfully.
• Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other Republican leaders said in a statement the administration "cannot be trusted to deliver on its promises to secure the border and enforce laws as part of a single, massive bill like the one passed by the Senate."
• House GOP lawmakers streaming out of a two-hour meeting on immigration Wednesday also shrugged off a long-distance nudge from former President George W. Bush, who called on Congress to reach a "positive resolution" on the issue.
• "America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time," Bush said at a naturalization ceremony at his presidential library in Dallas.
• "We care what people back home say, not what some former president says," declared Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.
• ___

• CAIRO (AP) -- A promise of $12 billion in aid from wealthy Arab Gulf nations would give Egypt's new military-backed leadership breathing room by paying for vital food and fuel imports. But the benefits would be only temporary, because Egypt's broken economy remains unrepaired.

(Continued on page 29)