ALBANY, N.Y. - Democratic insiders say the selection of Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill New York's vacant U.S. Senate seat showed the pivotal influence of senior Sen. Charles Schumer.

U.S. senators may get a chance to hear about SB 1070 from an Arizonan — but not from the person the subcommittee chair originally sought.

The head of a U.S. Senate subcommittee wants Gov. Jan Brewer to tell him and his colleagues why she thinks Arizona needs its own law aimed at illegal immigration.

WASHINGTON - The manufacturer of the drug most effective in treating bird flu will negotiate with generic drug companies to increase production of Tamiflu, two senators said Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Rebuffing challenges from a senior U.S. senator, the author of Arizona’s immigration law on Tuesday defended both the legality and the wisdom of his measure.

Several U.S. Supreme Court justices, quoted as steadfastly opposing cameras recording attorneys’ arguments before them, stubbornly hold to beliefs that are as outmoded as the horse and buggy.

ATLANTA — In a remarkable gesture to fee-weary air travelers, five major U.S. airlines are committing to actually not charge a fee for something — the carryon bag.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Statue of Liberty, closed since Superstorm Sandy damaged the island where it stands, will reopen to the public in time for Independence Day, officials said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Social Security benefits promised to workers currently 55 and older would remain unchanged under President Bush's call for voluntary personal accounts for younger Americans, Republican congressional officials said Wednesday, citing information provided by the administration.

WASHINGTON - Chief Justice-nominee John Roberts, his confirmation secure, picked up support from fractured Senate Democrats Wednesday as President Bush met lawmakers to discuss a second, probably more contentious, vacancy on the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved a bill aimed at making affordable, federally insured loans available to hundreds of thousands of borrowers who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure.

Last spring, the Bush administration approached Congress about cutting the budget for air marshals by 20 percent and was rebuffed.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Ticketmaster agreed Monday to change its online sales process after it directed people seeking Bruce Springsteen tickets to a subsidiary that charged up to 50 times the face value.

WASHINGTON - Three weeks before London’s bus and subway bombings, a Senate committee voted to slash spending on mass transit security in the United States, a decision sure to be reversed when Congress returns next week.

CRAWFORD, Texas - With a fresh promise of Saudi cooperation in hand, the Bush administration said Monday it is eager to question a man linked to the Sept. 11 hijackers and the Saudi government.

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will conduct a highly unusual second review of potential security risks in a business deal it previously approved for a United Arab Emirates-based company to take over significant operations at six leading U.S. ports.

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday he would not release any records of his conversations with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers that could threaten the confidentiality of advice that presidents get from their lawyers.