WASHINGTON

House members arrive at agreement on immigration

A bipartisan band of House members working on a comprehensive immigration bill has reached an agreement in principle, lawmakers said Thursday.

The lawmakers did not provide details as they left a two-hour meeting Thursday evening, but said they would be working to write the measure.

“We have an agreement in principle. We’re now going to work on finishing up the drafting of the bill,” Rep. John Carter, R.-Texas, a member of the group, said Thursday.

Republicans vote to repeal health care law once again

The Republican-led House voted yet again Thursday to repeal President Obama’s health care law, knowing full well that won’t stop it.

Only months away from the rollout of coverage for uninsured Americans, it was the 37th attempt in a little more than two years by House Republicans to eliminate, defund or partly scale back the Affordable Care Act. The Democratic-led Senate and the president will simply ignore the House action, which came on a virtual party line vote, 229-195.

Terrorists got on flights, inspector general reports

The government has allowed terrorists into America’s witness protection program and failed to provide the names of some of them for the watch list that’s used to keep dangerous people off airline flights, the Justice Department’s inspector general says.

As a result of the department’s failure to share information with the Terrorist Screening Center, some in the witness protection program who were on a “no-fly” list were allowed to travel on commercial flights, the department’s watchdog said.

In a briefing for reporters Thursday, the Justice Department said it has remedied the problem with a restrictive travel policy that prohibits program participants with no-fly status from traveling on commercial flights. The department declined to say how many people in the program actually flew.

PHOENIX

Woman faces abuse charge for offering a free baby

A woman is facing a child abuse charge after police say she tried to give her baby to strangers outside a Phoenix convenience store.

Police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson said officers were called to the store Wednesday evening to check on 36-year-old Rozenna Luna and her 6-month-old daughter. Witnesses told officers that Luna was asking strangers if they wanted a free child.

Police said Luna had been drinking and smoking methamphetamine two days ago and had made no attempt to contact any safe haven locations, government agencies or family members for help.

Luna ended up calling police herself. They say she knew she would be taken to jail on outstanding misdemeanor warrants and would not have to take care of her daughter.

The baby is in state custody.

— From news service reports